Hunted By The Alien Prince: An Alien Abduction Romance (The Hunt Book 2)

by A. M. Griffin

  Bonding contract? Mate? Children?

  Payton’s heart sunk to the pit of her stomach.

  “My species mate for life.”

  “That brings me to the purpose of this transmission. Her father is eager to make the bonding official. It’s time to return to your duties and come back from playing with your prey. I’m sorry that your time will be cut shorter than anticipated. I hope you understand. Transport will be waiting for you at the Turolois space station. I’ve spoken to the game warden’s assistant. He’ll arrange transportation from the lodge to the space station. Thank you again, brother. I’ll greet you when you arrive.”

  The transmission ended. Payton squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the flow of tears.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “It wasn’t like I was in love with him or anything that stupid.”

  The word “love” left a bad taste in her mouth. Payton wanted to spit after she’d said it.

  “No one will ever trick me into falling in love with them again.” She laughed crazily and waggled her finger in the air. “He was trying, though.” She turned her head to give Jack an accusatory stare. He trotted happily by her side as if they hadn’t just been betrayed. “And you were fooled too. I didn’t forget about that belly thing. If you could talk, you would’ve been begging him to rub it.”

  She turned back to stare ahead. It was getting harder and harder to see. Fat, clumps of snow fell from the sky. It was if someone had the grand idea that snowflakes as big as a hand would be a terrific way to make her more miserable than she already was. “Well, we aren’t friends with Themba anymore. The next time you see him, you take him out. Is that clear? Rip him a new one, Jack. I’m serious.”

  She stomped, not caring if she left tracks. With the amount of snow falling, her footsteps would be covered by morning anyway. Plus, after she’d used a pod to get away from Themba, it would take him a while to find her again—if he wanted to look—which he didn’t because he was leaving. “Screw him!” she yelled. She huffed out a breath and pressed on even though the dry air made her lungs burn. “Now I only have one pod left.”

  Who the hell made up these rules? Three pods for Level One and only two pods for Level Two? How many would she get in Level Three? One? She laughed hysterically. Just their luck and they wouldn’t get any.

  Her foot caught on something hard and snow covered. She stumbled and fell down face first. Jack, thinking it a game, galloped around her head. “God, I hate this place.” She pushed herself upright. It took a considerable amount of effort, but she did it. And when she did, she just stood there. Eyes burning.

  It had taken everything she had not to tell him about the message she’d heard. He left vowing to return the next day. She’d smiled and said her goodbyes. He would find out later there wouldn’t be a tomorrow for them.

  Besides, what could she have done? Told him? Yeah, right. Listening to that recording was the equivalent of going through a guy’s cell phone while he slept. She used to do that when she and Mike were together, and the outcome ended just like this one had. Not good. Plus, she didn’t want Themba to think she was “that” type of girl. Jealous. Possessive.

  They weren’t a couple. He was the guy having his fun, and she was the poor sap who’d gone along for the ride.

  She had to admit, though, he made her believe he really liked her.

  My treasure.

  Beautiful.

  “Since when do I fall for pretty words, Jack?” she mumbled.

  Since an over six-foot tall alien, with beautiful amber eyes, ticklish whiskers, smooth voice, and playful tail stepped into my life.

  But at least she hadn’t fallen too over heels for him. She had to give herself credit for that. This time, instead of it taking years to leave, it had taken zero.

  Score one for her.

  Pointing that fact out should’ve made her feel better. It didn’t. Her heart hurt too much to feel good about anything.

  “Get over it. You’re no blushing virgin who was debauched.” And per his own words, he’d had sex with plenty of women. So what if he’d only been her second? That didn’t matter at all. “Nope.” She wasn’t feeling like he was special to her. Nope. Nope. Nope.

  “Most of the hunters are looking to capture Level One prey for mates or whatever.” Esme’s words came back to her.

  He’d offered to claim her. She hadn’t been so foolish to think it was because he wanted her to be his wife or anything like that. He wanted her to be a “whatever” and so far, she’d gladly taken up that position.

  He knows I’m not wife material.

  She took in a deep breath. Mike had told her often that he’d regretted defying his family and marrying her. He’d said it had been the worst mistake he’d ever made. She’d thought his worst mistake had been the time he’d taken candy from a stranger only to find out a little later said candy was laced with acid. Mike had spent the next two days high and hallucinating, sitting by their bedroom door, because he couldn’t figure out the leprechaun’s riddle and couldn’t pass until he did.

  But no, marrying her had been Mike’s greatest mistake.

  “When am I ever going to learn, Jack?” She was so disgusted with herself. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t play the fool again. “But here I am!” she yelled, raising her arms out to her sides. “Just as stupid as ever!”

  “And here I am!” someone yelled off to her side. “Cold as ever!”

  Caught off guard, Payton stumbled and fell forward again. The snow was so deep even her outstretched arms couldn’t stop her from getting a face full of it. “Shit.” She spit the snow from her mouth.

  With a huff, she pushed herself up. Jack gave a playful bark and bounded through the snow toward a tree. If she hadn’t said anything Payton would never have spotted Yesinia. Her dark clothing blended perfectly with the trunk.

  “Holy shit! You scared me!”

  Yesenia wiggled her fingers at Payton. “Hey, bitch.”

  Payton ran, and Yesinia launched off the tree to meet her halfway. They slammed into each other with a hug.

  “Oh, my God. You don’t know how happy I am to see someone else.”

  “We thought you were taken,” Yesinia held Payton tightly.

  “It’s Level Two. We can’t communicate with each other.”

  Yesenia pulled back. “It was the first thing I tried to do when I was tossed out of the pod and landed in this hellhole. So if we haven’t been taken, do you think Esme, Miranda, Min, and Danny are somewhere out here too?”

  “They were gone at roll call?”

  Yesenia nodded. “It was just me and Ben at last check in.”

  Ben was still back there? Now all alone? “Shit. Really?”

  Yesenia nodded. “It was scary as hell. I was contemplating giving up and taking that hunter up on his offer to make me his mate.”

  “I got one too, but I think we should go for the win.” There was no point in telling Yesenia now that Themba could take them all away. He was long gone and with it any hope of saving them. They were on their own.

  Yesinia wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. “Yeah, but now that I know you guys are still out here, I don’t have to give up. So what was all that yelling about? What stupid thing did you do?”

  I did so many stupid things. “I was stupid enough to be outside that night when I got caught. If I’d stayed in my house, I wouldn’t be here.”

  “Same,” Yesinia said with a nod. “So where are you headed?”

  Payton looked off and shrugged. “I don’t know. I just need to get away from my old hiding spot. It’s been compromised. Where are you headed?”

  She shrugged and shivered again. Payton finally noticed Yesinia wore the same clothes that Payton had last seen her in. “No clue. I just arrived.”

  “The first thing you have to do is call for new clothes. You finally get to change out of those and burn them if you want.”

  “New clothes would be nice.”

  Payton showed Yesi
nia the icon for clothes, weapons, and firesticks. “Oh, and besides not being able to communicate with anyone. You also have to hunt for your food.” Payton pulled a protein bar from her fanny pack. “Don’t say that I never did anything for you. This is a one-time gift.”

  Yesinia took the bar as she scrambled into her clothes. “I know our countdowns will sync if we stay together long. But it’s freezing and dark. Can you help a sista out?”

  Yesinia wasn’t a sexy alien, but Payton would gladly welcome her company. “Come on. But it’s only because I’m feeling generous tonight.”

  * * *

  “Incoming communication from the administration.”

  Themba stood naked in the shower, running his fingers through his hair, allowing the cleaning process to penetrate the strands and down to his scalp. “Yes?”

  “Sorry to bother you, Nkosana. The transport your Kgosi ordered is ready,” a game attendant said.

  Themba frowned. “Melisizwe? Why did he order a transport? Is something wrong?”

  “I’m not privy to that information. He called earlier stating you would exit The Hunt this evening and asked us to provide transportation to the space station. A shuttle awaits there to take you home. He said he left you a message?”

  “One moment.” Themba stepped from the shower and tapped the communication icon, pulling up the last message from his brother. It was marked as read. Maybe he’d accidentally pressed it while sleeping? He listened to the message. Irritation coursed through him. He knew he had to fulfill his duty, but it was too soon to tell Payton goodbye. He’d wanted more time with her.

  He opened the administrative channel. “I have unfinished business. I’m not leaving tonight.”

  “As you wish.”

  Themba ended the communication. Melisizwe would be upset once he learned Themba wasn’t on the shuttle back to Ipakethe. But he was giving up the rest of his life for his kingdom, Ipakethe and Melisizwe. The least Melisizwe could do was not rush him home.

  Themba needed time to say goodbye to his true lifemate.

  * * *

  The next morning Themba made his way to their cavern, and one thing was immediately apparent.

  Payton had left.

  He glanced around the snow-covered landscape. He couldn’t find one single track in the newly fallen snow. He didn’t know how much time he had before his brother commanded him to return, but he wasn’t leaving Turolois without Payton.

  He had to find her.

  What if another hunter caught her? A low growl erupted from his throat. He would kill anyone who tried to claim her.

  He checked his comlink. Payton’s face didn’t display as one of the prey taken. He let out a sigh of relief. All he had to do was find her and convince her to leave with him.

  And if she didn’t want to?

  He would take her. By force if necessary. Payton didn’t belong in The Hunt.

  She belonged with him.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Jesus, it’s cold.

  Payton was on her knees, hunched over the rudimentary deadfall trap she desperately tried to make work. She’d made the same trap easily during her weekend at the survivalist retreat. But to be fair, it had been over a hundred degrees in the California desert, and she hadn’t had the catch or starve element hanging over her head.

  The survivalist running the retreat had come by and given her pointers and tips, and afterward, they’d had lunch and moved on to the next task.

  She’d never thought to try out her newfound skills in cold weather or to practice her trap setting after the retreat. The host had told her she was a natural and her traps had been so sturdy and nice.

  He could’ve been lying though.

  He was trying to get in my pants.

  With stiff and freezing hands, she adjusted the stick under the heavy rock once again.

  Don’t break. Don’t break. Don’t—

  The stick cracked in half, and the rock hit the snow with a thump.

  Break.

  She curled her hands into fists and shook them at the sky. If she weren’t afraid of making noise, she would’ve screamed. After a few minutes of cursing in her head, she dropped her hands and glanced at Jack. “This isn’t working. All the sticks around here are too dry and brittle. They’ll never hold the rock.”

  The rock itself was perfect. It was the right size and shape and heavy enough to kill or trap small game. The problem was the stupid sticks.

  She glanced around. Nothing but snow and scraggly grey trees for miles and miles. The sun was so bright it made the crisp white snow blindingly bright. Normally Payton would’ve waited until after the evening alarm rang before venturing out, but she’d tried that last night, and the whipping wind and freezing cold had made her turn around and return to the cave she was calling home. Plus, there’d been howling that sounded too close for comfort, and she didn’t want to end up as someone’s meal.

  She’d hidden until the wind had died down some before trying again. She’d trudged through the snow until she found a wooded area. She hated snow, but she could deal with a few inches rather than the knee-deep snow she’d had to travel through to find this place.

  The wind whipped up and almost pushed her over. The cold air penetrated the snowsuit and settled in her bones. It was brutal out here. Payton hoped Yesenia was doing better than she was.

  After that first night, Yesenia had ventured off on her own. Payton knew they had to split up, but also, spending another day with company wouldn’t have been so bad. With Themba gone she didn’t know when she would have company again and the thought made her…sad, apprehensive, lonely. But Yesenia had taken one look at their comlinks, saw they were synced, and insisted she leave. Payton hadn’t tried to stop her. It was the nature of their circumstances.

  Her stomach grumbled. She placed her hands on it. God it hurt so bad.

  If Themba were here he would have something for her to eat.

  But he’s not here and he’s not coming back.

  Payton’s heart felt like someone had reached into her chest and squeezed it.

  Stop.

  The sooner she forgot about him, the sooner she could move on.

  Payton let out a sigh and scanned the trees. Not a monkey or bird in sight. In the last level, they’d been watching her from almost every tree limb. It wasn’t like she could scale the tree to nab anything anyway, because as she’d already discovered, the limbs were brittle. Plus she wasn’t desperate enough to climb a tree and risk falling. On a positive note, if she did fall, the snow would help with the impact. On the downside, she couldn’t delude herself into thinking she was quick enough to climb a tree and grab an animal.

  Huffing, Payton accepted she might very well go hungry again today.

  While she was out here starving and freezing to death, Themba was on his home planet with his new wife.

  She wanted to cry, but the cold tears would only hurt her eyes.

  Her stomach grumbled and burned.

  If she wasn’t so afraid of letting Jack out of her sight, she would let him run wild and hope he came back with something to eat. Running wild at the dog park or in the canyons not far from her place was way different than on an alien world. Here he could run across a hunter or one of those wolf-looking things again.

  If he got hurt or killed…

  Payton didn’t want to think about losing him. She couldn’t do this by herself.

  She hated to admit it, but she’d gotten used to seeing Themba and spending time with him. Theirs had been a cat and mouse game. She would hide, and no matter what, he would find her.

  What the hell is wrong with me? Of course, he found me. He was hunting me.

  But now that he wasn’t. She missed him.

  I need fucking therapy. I wonder what Dr. Rebecca would say about this.

  Payton pushed out a breath and grabbed the next stick in her dwindling pile. She arranged it carefully, as she’d done the other times, stuffing one end through the snow and securing it in the groun
d. She held up one side of the rock and positioned it.

  As she worked, snot ran from her nose, but luckily it dried before reaching her upper lip. If she had a mirror, she imagined she would find dried snot tracks under her nose.

  Not a good look.

  But she didn’t have to look pretty for anyone. She shouldn’t have been thinking about it, to begin with. Here she was, on an alien planet, hunted and instead of focusing on surviving and winning, she’d been holed up, playing house with Themba. She’d never believed Mike when he’d told her she was dumb, but she sure as hell felt there was truth to his words today.

  My ndebele. She mouthed the words mockingly as she thought it.

  Those two words had made her feel like something. The man had a whole fiancée at home, and he was running around playing games with her. Who even had time for that? Apparently, Themba.

  If he were here now, Payton would do more than stab him in the chest. Her knife might not be able to penetrate his thick skin, but her new machete would do the trick.

  Stop thinking about that fool and concentrate.

  Payton pulled back and held her breath. The stick held. Dare she hope she would have food soon?

  She reached into her coat pocket and retrieved the frozen bits of the last of her Level One protein bar. She stared at it longingly and licked her lips. She wanted nothing more than to stuff the pieces into her mouth. At the thought, her mouth watered and her stomach grumbled.

  But if she ate it, where would that lead her? Still hungry because what she held wasn’t filling. No, she needed to stick to her plan and use the food as bait. She licked her lips again. With it, she could catch an animal and have real meat. Then she would use the animal guts to make more traps and catch more food.

  I’m so hungry!