Pillaged: A Sci-Fi Alien Warrior Romance (Raider Warlords of the Vandar Book 3)

by Tana Stone

  “I promise you this agreement is only about protecting the female and keeping her from the admiral’s reach, while striking a blow to the empire at the same time. I am in no danger of losing my heart again.”

  He nodded, but the expression on his face told me he remembered how I’d been when I’d returned to the colonies and discovered Lila was mated to another. It had been a dark time in my past, punctuated by long sessions in the battle ring, many with Viken.

  I grasped his forearm and held his gaze with mine. “I assure you. This is different. I am going into this arrangement with a clear understanding on both sides. The female has her reasons, and so do I. Emotional attachment is not one of them for either of us.”

  Even as I attempted to convince my fellow warrior, the words sounded hollow to my ears. My idea was impulsive and unlike my usually measured strategy. Yes, taking Rachael as a mate could be seen as strategy, but it was one with an outcome that could not be assured. My uncle and mentor would have called it reckless, and I suspected he would have been right. Even though Rachael had not given me an answer, thoughts of her were crowding my mind, and proving to be a distraction I did not need.

  Was I trying to use her as a salve for my residual longing for Lila? Was it possible to erase the pain of a lost love with a new one? If it was, that was one more reason to take Rachael as a mate. Even though my heartache had faded over time, the memories still haunted me, and I wished to banish them once and for all.

  We headed for the exit of the holo-ring, but before I could press my hand to the door panel, the ship shuddered and lurched forward. I stumbled into the wall with Viken beside me.

  “Tvek!” I said, a jolt of pain shooting up my arm from the impact.

  “What was that?”

  I held my palms to the cool steel of the wall. “The ship has stopped.”

  Viken didn’t move for a moment, as he also listened for the familiar burr of the engines. “You’re right.”

  “The Zagrath,” we both said, at once.

  “They can’t have found us,” I said, more to convince myself than Viken. “The enemy does not possess the technology.”

  But what else could it be? I pressed my hand to open the door and ran for the command deck with my battle chief by my side. And what else could they be after, but the female I intended to claim as my own?

  Chapter 12

  Toraan

  “Report!” I bellowed, as Viken and I stormed the command deck. We’d raced up from the bowels of the ship where the holo-ring was located, and sweat still beaded our bodies.

  Rolan stood at his console, his arms gripping the edges. He tapped his heels together as he turned. “It’s a blockade, Raas.”

  I shifted my focus to the wide view screen. What appeared to be a wall of gray Zagrath ships stretched out in front of us. Not all were bulky battleships, but there were enough of the blocky vessels that my stomach sank. While my horde was the largest of all Vandar hordes—and equipped with the most sophisticated weaponry—we were no match for this. Not alone.

  “Tvek,” I muttered as Viken strode to his station.

  I braced my feet wide and overlooked both the command deck and the view screen. Unlike most ships, my command deck did not have a captain’s chair. Vandar Raas’ did not sit while they commanded, just as our warriors did not sit at their stations. We needed to be prepared to fight at any moment, and sitting did not give a strategic advantage.

  Viken swiped his fingers across his console. “They can’t know we’re here.”

  Rolan gave a single shake of his head. “If my suspicions are correct, this is not their only blockade.”

  “They’re trying to set up a net so they can catch us,” I said.

  “Or catch the female,” Viken added.

  The hard lump in my gut hardened into a cold ball. The admiral was intent in his desire to find Rachael. More than I’d expected he would be.

  He could not love her. Rachael had all but told me they’d had no intimate contact and few conversations. But he clearly believed her to be his, and it seemed he was willing to go to great lengths to retrieve her.

  “Orders, Raas?” Viken’s hand hovered over his controls. He was itching to fire at our enemy.

  My own fingers tingled with the desire for battle, but I steadied my breath. Rushing in from the battle ring had put me on edge, but once we fired, our horde would be revealed, and our tactical advantage gone.

  “Hold fire.” I bit out the words. “If they do not know we are here, let’s not give ourselves away.”

  “You wish to wait?” Rolan asked. “Should we summon another horde? Your brothers can’t be too far away.”

  “No,” The words came out sharper than I’d intended. “The empire wants us to fire. That’s why they’re here—to draw us into a battle so they can weaken us. We’re not going to walk into their trap.”

  Viken curled his hands around the corners of his console. “You wish to retreat?”

  “I wish to find another way across the sector.” I scanned the warriors standing at their posts in leather battle kilts with battle axes hanging by their sides. Tails twitched and boots shuffled. “This is the most advanced horde in the galaxy, and this is the most well-trained crew. We need to get around this blockade. I trust my warriors can find a way.”

  Rolan threw his shoulders back. “You heard the Raas. Let’s get to work.”

  Heads swiveled back and fingers tapped on screens. Rolan left his station to join me, turning to stand shoulder to shoulder and observe the urgent work of our warriors.

  “You have a concern, majak?”

  He didn’t look away from the view screen. “Not a concern, Raas. A question.”

  “Ask it. You know I welcome your input and your counsel.”

  “What is our mission now, Raas? We joined the other hordes, intent on raiding one of the enemy battleships, but then we changed our plan to follow the transport. Once we took the human, we left the area quickly to put distance between ourselves and the admiral’s search.”

  When he paused, I cut my eyes to him. “You want to know my strategy?”

  “I would like to know our destination.”

  I couldn’t suppress my grin. “That is a fair request. We need to get around the blockade so we can leave this sector and head to Zendaren.”

  His head snapped to me. “Zendaren? Home of one of our colonies?”

  Even though I felt his gaze boring into me, I stared straight ahead. “While Viken and I were in the holo-ring, I was reminded that it had been too long since we returned. There are warriors who wish to hang up their battle axes and take a mate. There are sons who have not seen parents in longer than anyone can remember. I had promised a return before we’d intercepted the hail from my brother’s horde. I do not want to go back on that just because we rescued the female.”

  “And this decision has nothing to do with the female?”

  Now I did twist my head to his. “Why would it?”

  “It is not related to what she conveyed about the admiral and his suspicions?”

  My shoulders lowered. “Only in that I would like to reassure myself that all are safe, and there has been no security breach. Since we do not send communications to the colonies while we are away on our missions, there is no way to know if there has been any trouble.”

  “And you believe it is safe to visit?” Rolan asked. “With the admiral searching for them?”

  Viken walked up and joined us, taking his position on my other side. We then stood three across, as we often did on the command deck, observing the warriors at work and monitoring the skies.

  “Searching for what?” he asked.

  “Raas wishes to set a course for Zendaren,” Rolan said.

  The effect on my battle chief was immediate. “The colonies?”

  “It was our plan before we detoured to Carlogia Prime,” I reminded him. “It is overdue.”

  “A trip to a pleasure planet is overdue,” he mumbled.

  Viken did
not long for our return trips to the colonies, and would have much preferred to spend a few days drinking and whoring on Lissa.

  “Is it wise to continue with that plan, Raas?” he asked. “If the empire has knowledge of the colonies’ existence, shouldn’t we avoid anything that might reveal their location?”

  “The enemy cannot track us.” I waved a hand at the motionless fleet in front of us. Not a ship had changed position, and not a weapon had been fired. “They cannot see us when we are right on top of them. How could they follow an unseen horde across two sectors and into an uncharted part of space?”

  He nodded but scraped a hand through his sweaty hair. “We should increase our follow patrols during the journey.”

  “Agreed,” I said. “I will count on you to make it happen.”

  “It is done, Raas.” He clicked his heels. “I will go work on a patrol schedule for the trip, and draw up contingency battle plans.”

  He took long strides to his oblek, which was attached to one side of the command deck. Although the small, dim chamber was intended for interrogation, Viken preferred its solace—and the comfort of the surrounding weapons on the walls—when he made his plans.

  “I’ve calculated a route around the blockade,” one of my pilots said as he turned toward me.

  “Transmit it to the horde ships on the encrypted channel,” I said. “Then plot the most secure and least predictable route to Zendaren.”

  The command deck went quiet for a beat, even as the consoles emitted their intermittent beeps. Journeys to our secret colonies were always accompanied by caution and shrouded in layers of anxiety.

  “But I would not be averse to including a pleasure planet as a stop along the way,” I added.

  The weight of the room lifted, and a collective breath was released. A roar of approval rose up, led by my own majak, who pumped his fist in the air.

  It was clear my warriors needed a release before undertaking a trip that would be fraught with import and thick with responsibility. Not to mention the fact that it was, at heart, a trip home to visit family. That did not always equate to relaxation.

  “You are sure?” Rolan asked in a voice only we two could hear.

  “About the pleasure planet or the colonies?”

  He didn’t answer me directly. “How will you explain the human to him?”

  He meant my uncle, the Raas who preceded me and who had been my mentor and father figure—much more than my own long-dead father. He lived on Zendaren, and I could not go without visiting him. Not that I would ever miss a chance to visit with the Vandar who had taught me everything I knew and gifted me with a triumphant horde.

  But Rolan was right. A non-Vandar had never been to our secret colonies, especially not one who had been an imperial bride. Her presence would require an explanation for my uncle who insisted that every move be taken in service to a long-term strategy.

  “Do not worry.” I put a hand on my majak’s shoulder. “I am not taking a human to our colonies. I will be taking my mate—a Raisa.”

  “I hope the human understands what that means, Raas.”

  My pulse quickened as I thought of her. So did I.

  Chapter 13

  Rachael

  “What’s going on?”

  Even though I asked the question out loud as I paced beside the fireplace, there was no one in the room to hear me. Still, it was comforting to hear a sound other than the artificial snap of the blue flames. Since the ship’s engines had stopped, things had seemed too quiet.

  Why had the engines stopped? There had been no sounds of battle, so that wasn’t the reason, and I doubted the Vandar warbird had suddenly broken down.

  I took another gulp of my wine. I’d given up trying to pace myself, since it was clear the Raas wasn’t coming back anytime soon. I didn’t need to worry about staying sober and behaving myself if there was no one to behave in front of. I doubted my mother would have agreed with my logic, but at this point I could have cared less what she thought.

  “It’s her fault I’m in this mess,” I whispered to myself. “Her and my father. Screw them.”

  I slapped a hand over my mouth as soon as the words left my lips. I never would have dared utter such a disrespectful thought on Horl. Not even to myself.

  But you’re not on Horl. You’re on a Vandar ship, because your parents sold you off to a disgusting Zagrath admiral and you ran like hell.

  “Screw them,” I said again, this time louder.

  Seriously. What kind of parents sold their daughter off to marry a man who could be her grandfather? I shuddered and slugged down more wine.

  I couldn’t feel my lips anymore, and my fingers tingled, but I didn’t care. The Vandar wine helped keep me from thinking too much about the Raas’ deal.

  The whole thing still seemed unreal. Had the gorgeous alien—a warlord of the infamous Vandar raiders—really asked me to be his mate? It was crazy, especially since I’d barely been on the ship for any time at all and hardly knew him, but what was even crazier was that I was seriously considering accepting.

  I held up my nearly empty goblet. “And that was before I was drunk.”

  I giggled and hiccupped and put a few fingers over my lips. It didn’t matter that I was a little tipsy. It wasn’t like I needed to be demure or well-behaved anymore. I was no longer a prize for my parents to show off. Suddenly, I felt freer than I ever had.

  I may have technically been locked in the Raas’ quarters, but I didn’t answer to anyone anymore. I slammed back the last of the wine and scanned the sparse room.

  Too bad there wasn’t much I could do with my freedom. The bed loomed large, with its imposing posters and heavy drapery swagged over the canopy, but I wasn’t sleepy. My stomach fluttered at the idea of being in bed when the Raas returned. Would he want to sleep or would he…?

  I jerked my gaze away. An attendant had removed all the plates of food from the long table, but I did spot the carafe of wine. Walking quickly to it—and holding my arms out for balance—I refilled my goblet and took a sip. That was better.

  Why was I even entertaining the idea of becoming a mate to a Vandar warlord?

  “Aside from the fact that he’s gorgeous?” I whispered to myself before stifling a giggle.

  Raas Toraan definitely stirred something in me, his primal energy provoking my own deeply buried urges. And his tail… I moaned as I thought about how the tip of his tail twitched and wondered if the furry part felt as silky as it looked.

  I tossed back a gulp of wine. Aside from desiring him, why would I want to commit myself to someone I barely knew? I’d already done that once when I’d been promised sight unseen to the admiral, and that hadn’t gone well at all. Now that I was finally free from my parents and the empire, was I really ready to give up my freedom and promise myself to another?

  Taking long steps to the fireplace inset in the obsidian wall between the Raas’ quarters and the Raisa suite, I peered into the blue flames. But did I really have another option? If I rejected the Raas, what would the Vandar do with me? They didn’t keep females on their warbirds, especially ones who weren’t Vandar and had no reason to be there.

  For the moment, I held some leverage. I’d told Toraan about the admiral’s hunt for the colonies, and that had seemed valuable to him. But once I told him everything I knew, he would have no reason to keep me. I’d seen enough of the Raas to know that he wasn’t some mindless brute like the Zagrath wanted people to believe.

  No, he was smart and shrewd, but also, I suspected, ruthless in the pursuit of his enemy. He kept me because I had crucial information and because he believed taking me as a mate would strike a blow to the admiral. If I did not agree to be his mate, what would he do with me?

  I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to imagine living my life with a virtual stranger aboard a raider warbird. Could I do it? Could I accept a future surrounded by huge, tailed aliens always on the hunt for battle? If not, could I give up the possibility of a future with him? He was the only
male who’d ever provoked such sensations in me. I might have little experience with males and none with love, but I knew myself enough to know that I wanted to know him more. And I definitely knew I did not want to go back to the admiral or my parents or be dropped off at some random outpost.

  Resting a hand on the obsidian stone hearth that was surprisingly cool to the touch, I opened my eyes and saw that the room swayed slightly. I eyed my nearly empty wine goblet. Despite how it warmed my belly, I suspected Vandar wine wasn’t helping me think.

  The doors behind me swished open. I turned quickly, then braced a hand on the hearth again for balance and took a deep breath to steady myself.

  “I’m glad you are awake.” Raas Toraan approached me quickly, his expression stern.

  Damn. He did not look happy. Was he upset I hadn’t given him an answer yet?

  “I thought of something else,” I said, the words spilling from me. I hoped he didn’t hear the slight slur in them.

  He stopped in front of me and titled his head to one side. “Something else?”

  “About the Zagrath.” My voice sounded tight, so I exhaled to calm myself as I set my goblet down on a nearby end table. I also needed a beat to figure out what I was going to tell him. What else did I know?

  He crossed his thick arms over his chest. “If it is to do with the blockade, you are too late.”

  I blinked up at him, trying to process his words as my mind whirred. “Blockade? It is for me?”

  “We believe so. The admiral’s transmission was specific, and the blockade seems to be an attempt to force our hand. Not that we have any intention of being bullied by the empire.”

  “So, what are you going to do?”

  “What we always do. Out-maneuver them.” His gaze held mine. “And anyone who tries to deceive us.”