Hope for the Alien Warrior (Treasured By the Alien #12)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

F elicity jerked awake as something hit the escape pod with a loud clang. She blinked at the flickering lights on the display in front of her, disoriented by the sudden awakening. Her body felt stiff and heavy as gravity returned, pushing her back against the padded sides. How long had she been unconscious?

The last thing she remembered was the escape pod shooting into the vast emptiness of space. Then the lights had started to dim and she’d just had time to realize the pod was putting her to sleep before everything went dark.

Lauren! Her best friend—her very pregnant best friend—had been in the next pod. Were they still together?

There was another metallic clang, followed by the sound of metal scraping against metal as the pod came upright. She tried to peer through the small window in front of her but all she could make out was a white glare. The hatch swung outward with a pneumatic hiss, flooding the small space with harsh light. She started to raise her arm to shield her eyes, but then two massive silhouettes blocked the light.

Her breath caught in her throat. These weren’t the white-skinned Vedeckians with their black uniforms and red eyes. Thick dark hair covered muscular bodies that towered over her. With their short legs and long arms, they bore a disturbing resemblance to Earth’s gorillas but their faces were both sentient and cruel.

“Looks like we caught a prize,” one of them laughed. “Come here, female.”

When she didn’t respond immediately, he gave an impatient grunt and yanked her out of the pod, his fingers digging cruelly into her arm.

“Let go of me!”

Her voice came out hoarse and rusty, weaker than she would have liked, but they both ignored her. The one holding her arm pulled it behind her back, holding her in place as the other male pried her mouth open. It took her terrified brain a moment to realize he was examining her teeth the same way a horse trader would have examined a horse’s teeth.

“Not as young as I’d like, but she looks healthy enough.” He dropped a heavy hand on her stomach, causing a spurt of panic. “Should still be capable of breeding.”

The casual words sent a wave of horror rushing over her. The disgusting feeling of his rough fingers in her mouth brought her to her senses and she bit down as hard as she could. He howled and snatched his hand away. She spit out the blood that filled her mouth, hoping that the bite might dissuade him. No such luck. He snarled, and backhanded her across the face. Stars strobed behind her eyes as the pain exploded through her head.

“She’ll fetch more if she isn’t damaged,” the one holding her said casually.

“The little bitch bit me.”

“Aw, did the tiny little human hurt you?” her captor asked mockingly and the other male snarled again.

“She needs a lesson in manners.”

“Let her new owner worry about that. I’d rather have the profits. You ruined the last one.”

The one who had hit her grumbled but he let his hand drop. As the pain in her face settled down to a dull throb she realized that he’d called her a human—which meant that they’d encountered other humans. Oh, God, Lauren.

She cast a quick look around the room as they started hauling her towards a set of heavy metal doors. It looked like some type of storage room with crates and containers stacked on huge metal shelving units. There were no other pods. As much as she wanted to find her friend, it was almost a relief to know that Lauren wasn’t being subjected to the same abuse.

I hope .

Her captor dragged her through the doors and along a maze of corridors, his grip digging painfully into her arm. Grime coated the metal walls, and the air carried a musty, animal smell that grew stronger with each turn. She tried to keep track of the twists and turns but between the lingering fog from whatever sedative had been administered in the pod and the constant throbbing in her face, she was soon hopelessly lost.

At the end of one of the corridors, another set of heavy doors slid open with a grinding screech. The room beyond stretched into darkness, illuminated only by strips of dim, floor level lighting that cast strange shadows between rows of cages. Most stood empty, but she heard a wet slither from the darkness at the back of one cage. In another, eight eyes reflected the light. Her skin crawled but she did her best not to react as her captor yanked her down the central path.

Another flash of movement drew her attention to one of the larger cells. A large male was sprawled on a metal ledge across the back of the cell. A very large male. Even in his sitting position, she was sure he was as large as her captors, but his size and muscular build were the only similarities. He had green skin marked with a subtle pattern and features that were more reptilian than simian, but there was something appealing about the strong bone structure and wide mouth. But it was his eyes that caught her attention. They were large and black in the dimness of the cell but as soon as their eyes met she felt the oddest sense of recognition, even though she knew she’d never seen anyone like him before.

He rose to his feet, powerful muscles rippling beneath that emerald skin. He was wearing tight leather pants and a leather chest harness with a number of empty straps. For weapons, she realized as he strode to the front of the cell. His eyes traveled over her, lingering for a second on her cheek, and a thick tail curved towards her. A tail?

“Still stealing females?” His voice carried a dangerous edge beneath its mocking tone. “Your kind disgusts me.”

The guard on her right snarled. “Mind your own business, Luxor.”

They passed an empty cell, its bars gleaming dully in the low light, then came to a halt before the next cage. Before she could brace herself, rough hands shoved her forward. She stumbled through the opening, catching herself against the wall as the door clanged shut behind her with a horrible finality.

It took a moment for her to realize that another woman was huddled in the corner of the metal ledge, two small children pressed against her sides. The woman’s dark hair fell in tangles around a face smudged with dirt and exhaustion but she was clearly human, as were the children—a boy of perhaps three and an even younger girl. So this was how they had known she was human.

Both relieved and disappointed that Lauren wasn’t there, she went to join the woman, giving her a cautious smile as she sat down on the other end of the ledge. Now that they were closer she could see that the woman was painfully young, perhaps not even out of her teens, and very pretty beneath the dirt.

“Hi. I’m Felicity.”

“I’m Carla.” The woman’s voice shook as she smoothed the boy’s hair. “This is Bobby, my son. And this—” She gestured to the little girl. “This is Nina.”

Both children stared at her silently, their eyes wide, and then Nina untangled herself from Carla’s side. Her small face tilted up, studying her with solemn dark eyes. She reached out an experimental finger to touch the dark purple velvet of Felicity’s pants—the ones she’d worn to the party before everything went wrong. Those tiny fingers trailed back and forth across the soft fabric before the little girl suddenly climbed into her lap, settling against her with a soft sigh.

She gave Carla a startled look as she instinctively wrapped her arms around Nina. The tiny body felt bird-fragile, and something fierce and protective bloomed in her chest. She’d treated countless children in her practice, but this felt different. This little girl needed someone to keep her safe in this nightmare.

“How long have you been here?” she asked, running her hand gently over Nina’s tangled hair.

“Three days, maybe four, on this ship.” Carla pulled Bobby closer. “It’s hard to tell. The lights never change but I think they’ve fed us four times.”

Nina’s breathing settled into a rhythmic pattern and she realized the little girl was asleep. The weight of the sleeping child anchored her, giving her something to focus on beyond her own fear, and she tightened her embrace around the little girl.

“You said on this ship?” she asked softly.

“They weren’t the ones who took me and Bobby from Earth. It was some white-skinned bastards-”

“The Vedeckians,” she interrupted. “They took us as well.”

“Us? They didn’t…” Carla’s voice shook again. “They didn’t take your child already?”

“No,” she said quickly. “My best friend and I were on our way home from a sort of going away party. Lauren was taking maternity leave.” Now it was her turn for her voice to tremble. “She’s eight months pregnant and I don’t know where she is. The ship was attacked and we managed to escape in the confusion but the escape pods were only big enough for one person each.”

“Must be open season on the Vedeckians,” Carla said bitterly. “The Ruijin attacked them as well. I don’t know what they were looking for but they seemed happy to take us along.”

The other woman stole a cautious glance at the child sleeping in Felicity’s lap and lowered her voice. “Nina’s mother was hurt in the attack. She didn’t make it, but all these bastards cared about was not being able to make a profit off of her.”

“Oh the poor little thing. I can’t imagine how traumatic that must have been for her.”

She hugged the girl again as Carla shook her head sadly.

“She hasn’t spoken since, but maybe she’ll respond to you. It took her two days to come to me.”

“I hope so, but with this type of trauma it can be difficult. At home I would have referred her to a children’s psychiatrist but that’s not really an option, is it?”

“Referred her?”

“I was—I am —a doctor. “

“Wow. I barely managed to make it out of high school before Bobby came along.”

“His father must be going crazy worrying about the two of you.”

Carla gave a disgusted snort and looked down to make sure that her son’s eyes were closed.

“My guess is he’ll just be relieved that I’m not coming after him for being late on his child support again.” The girl’s mouth twisted. “I was young and stupid and he was a prick. A married prick. But at least I got Bobby out of that disaster and he makes it worth all the heartache. I can’t stand the thought of losing him.”

“Why would you lose him?”

“Females are valuable. Young males are not.”

The deep voice startled them both and Felicity whirled around to see the big green alien—Luxor—looking across the empty cell between them.

“Why is that?” she demanded and he sighed, clearly regretting having spoken.

“The Red Death. A plague that swept through our systems twenty years ago,” he added when she gave him a confused look. “It killed billions, but females were disproportionately affected.”

He looked as if he were about to add something, then shook his head and went silent.

“I heard one of the Ruijin say they could try throwing him into any deal for my purchase,” Carla said softly. “But if the buyer doesn’t want him…”

A tear trickled down the girl’s cheek, leaving a clean streak in the dirt.

“We won’t let that happen,” Felicity said fiercely.

Not that she had any idea how to prevent it. She suspected Carla realized that as well, but the girl managed a somewhat shaky smile.

They talked a little more—enough for Carla to tell her that she was a server in a small town diner and barely making ends meet. The girl’s eyes started to droop, even though she was clearly trying to stay awake.

‘Why don’t you get some sleep?” Felicity asked quietly.

“I… I’m afraid they’ll take him while I sleep.”

How long had the girl been trying to stay awake? No wonder she looked so exhausted.

“I’ll watch over him. I promise I won’t let anything happen to him.”

Carla gave her a doubtful look, but eventually leaned back against the wall and a few minutes later, she too was asleep. The cell fell quiet except for the soft breathing of her sleeping companions. Her legs were starting to go numb, and she shifted Nina’s weight in her lap, careful not to wake her as she looked around, hoping for some inspiration on how to get all of them to safety.

I escaped once. I can do it again.

Except last time she’d had Lauren and her skill with technology. Her chest tightened at the thought of her friend. Was she safe, or in an even worse situation? No. She refused to let herself spiral into dark thoughts. Normally she had no problem with being optimistic and finding the bright side of any situation, but she had to admit it was hard to stay positive under these circumstances.

She snuck a look at Luxor under her lashes. He was sprawled on the ledge again, his tail curled over a muscular thigh, but the casual pose did nothing to disguise the strength in that powerful body. Her eyes traveled up across the broad expanse of his chest to his face and realized he was watching her in return. Heat rose to her cheeks as she hastily looked away.

“A foolish promise, little human. You could not prevent the Ruijin from taking the child.”

The deep voice sent a not unpleasant shiver down her spine, and she looked up to see Luxor watching her again, his black eyes gleaming in the low light.