The female’s lips snapped shut.
Zar took note and moved back another step.
The female went still.
He kept going until his back hit the wall. The room was cramped and he was still relatively close to her, but her tears dried. All he could hear was the ragged sounds of her breathing and the scrape of her nails against the cot.
Zar pointed to his chest. “Neh.”
“No?” Her voice held a trembling lilt. Hope flared in her eyes.
“Neh, human. I will not mate you against your will.”
She opened her mouth and then snapped it shut. Her gaze found the comms and he saw the spark of intelligence in her expression.
This female was a sharp one.
“The Heronas intend for me to plunder your heat,” he said, knowing that she could not understand but wanting to speak anyway. “We will not give them what they want.”
She swallowed audibly, her breathing even now.
Two heavy knocks on the door yanked both their heads in that direction.
A guard snapped at them. “Get on with it, Plutonian.”
“Get on with what?” Zar sneered.
“Do we have to walk you through the process?” The mockery in the guard’s tone made his knuckles bunch. “When all your females died, did you forget the ways of this ritual?”
“Shut your disgusting mouth.” Zar charged the door. “When I get my hands on you, I will—” A startling pain cut his threat in half.
The vibration of the collar shot through his body and slammed him into the ground. He bit down on his teeth to keep from crying out. Spasms shook the length of his spine and caused his eyes to roll back in his head.
From the cot, the female bawled out as if she were the one getting tortured.
The shock ended abruptly, but the pain lingered.
Zar knew from experience that it would take a while for his immobility to subside.
The guard’s voice hissed through the door. “Mate her or we will get involved. And believe me, Plutonian, neither of you will like the way we go about that.”
Three
Simone
She struggled to collect her racing thoughts. Closing her eyes, Simone went into that familiar space in her mind where she collected all her negative feelings and locked them away.
Fear. Anger. Pain.
She made them disappear with every deep breath.
Gone?
No. They were still there. Still ready to pounce. But right now, she needed solutions, not panic.
On this nightmarish planet, there was one alien who didn’t seem hell-bent on hurting her. She stared at the creature who was crumbled on the floor and clawing at his collar.
He was tall and ridiculously muscular with arms and pecs that rippled. The tattoos all over his blue skin drew her eye and made her wonder what they stood for.
His tail flicked behind him, spasming along with his body. She stared at the limb, hardly believing her eyes.
The alien looked more humanoid than any other creature she’d seen so far. His face was chiseled in a rough-hewn way, like a stone that the sculptor had left intentionally jagged and edgy. His cheekbones were pronounced and his lips thin and firm. He had long brown hair that was dirty and thin in parts.
As he roared in pain, she shook in fear.
She was trapped in a dark room with a monster.
But there was a silver lining.
This alien hadn’t touched her. He was, in fact, enduring severe agony rather than forcing himself on her.
But would that last? How far would the lion aliens push him before he broke?
I can’t trust him.
There was no guarantee that he wouldn’t turn on her. With her wrists bound like this, she couldn’t do anything if he decided to…
No. She wouldn’t even think about it.
The alien groaned softly and climbed to his knees. His long hair swung behind his shoulders and his tail twitched. Despite the pain clouding his eyes, he lifted his chin and rattled off harsh words to the guard outside.
Simone didn’t understand anything. It all sounded like alien gibberish to her. But she didn’t need to understand this blue alien warrior to know that he was fiercely proud and strong. Despite the pain flashing in his purple eyes, his tone rang with strength and confidence.
Simone took courage. Maybe, as fragile as she was, as overwhelmed and powerless as she felt, she could be a little brave too.
Solutions, Simone. Find a solution.
Her eyes caught on the collar around the blue warrior’s neck. It seemed like a shock collar, the kind used on animals.
Simone had a degree in data analysis, but she was fascinated by technology in general. If she got her hands free and could see that collar close-up, maybe she could reset the controls.
But that would require trusting the blue alien.
Could she?
Should she?
Her fellow prisoner staggered towards her. Clearly weakened, he put his hand up on the wall and leaned against it.
Their eyes met.
Held.
She saw… brokenness.
Anger.
So much it nearly scared her.
But beneath all that, she sensed that he was an ally.
She had to believe it.
Did she have a choice?
The fact was, he could have pounced on her by now. The guards stripped her of her underwear, forced her legs wide and presented her to him for the taking. With her hands tied, she couldn’t fight back if he climbed on top of her.
But he didn’t.
Not after being tortured.
Not after being threatened.
He was trapped, same as she, and he took that agony for her.
Simone didn’t trust anyone, but she couldn’t be picky in prison. They were on the same side. At least for now.
“Hey. Blue Alien Guy. Think you could get my hands free?”
He tilted his head and the light hit his square jaw. She felt her heart flutter when his eyes bore into hers. His irises were a deep purple. So strange and yet so beautiful.
Ehem.
Pushing aside the butterflies in her stomach, Simone searched for a way to communicate. Lifting slightly off the cot with her shoulders, she jutted her chin in the direction of her hands. “Free me.”
Still nothing.
Again, she nodded at her hands. “I need to get out of this.”
A flicker of understanding passed through his expression. He dipped his chin sharply.
Simone’s heart raced with excitement. Yes. That’s it, Blue Guy.
Marching to the door, he banged on it until a harried voice grunted at him. The blue alien snarled out a command. If anyone heard him, they’d think he belonged on the other side of the prison door.
As he and the guard had a back-and-forth, Simone waited in tense silence. Sweat dripped down her back and made the gown cling to her skin.
Holding her breath, she nearly shrieked when the sound of a button clicked and the restraints around her wrists and ankles fell away. Simone sat up, massaging the bruised skin.
The blue alien turned and met her eyes.
“W-what are you doing?” She blinked and hopped off the cot.
The blue alien warrior grabbed her shoulders and thrust her against the wall. Fear made her heart gallop in her chest.
She screamed.
The cackle of the guard outside made her feel even more helpless.
She’d been wrong to trust this blue alien.
So wrong.
She knew that.
Why did she think for a second—
The alien put a thick finger to his lips and pointed to the camera on the wall.
Her eyebrows pulled together and she whispered, “What did you say to them?”
“Huhman.” He tugged on her tunic.
She gasped and smacked his hand away. He didn’t seem at all fazed by her resistance and kept subtly darting his eyes at the camera while hovering hi
s hands over her.
Simone caught on quickly.
He wanted her to play along.
Her eyes widened and she nodded. “Okay.”
The alien grunted and thrust his hips forward. She waited for the impact of his groin to hit her center, but it never came. He stopped inches away from her body, pulled back and hoisted his hips again.
She winced. As weird as this all was and as much as he was infringing on her personal space, not one part of him touched her. She felt safe in this crazy situation that would make anybody’s stomach curdle. Like the ground was no longer moving under her. Like everything would be okay.
I’m insane.
She had to focus.
Pointing to his collar, she whispered, “Can I see that? I think I can get it off you.”
His intelligent purple eyes zoomed in on her. Though she was sure he couldn’t understand her words, he seemed to trust her too.
Taking her hand, the alien gave it a squeeze. A moment later, he dragged her tunic to her waist and grunted. Slanting an angry look at the camera, he let her skirt drop and grabbed her possessively to his chest.
A voice snarled from outside. The blue alien answered harshly, and the lion alien went quiet. Purple eyes glinting, her partner in crime pushed her into a corner of the room.
She saw a small bucket and smelled an acidic stench that made her want to vomit, but there was no time for her gag reflex to act up.
The alien kept the camera in his line of sight. “Huhman, eet gut hurri.”
“Okay.” She reached for the collar and pressed it. Relief coursed through her when she saw that the screen reacted to her touch. Though it was in another language, Simone could see enough familiar lines of code to move swiftly and confidently.
“Reset. Reset,” she mumbled.
Thuds exploded on the door.
The alien slammed both his hands on either side of her, caging her in and barking at the guard outside. She could tell that he was buying time, but it wouldn’t be enough.
Her heart thundered in her ears.
“Just a little longer.” Trembling fingers raced over the collar’s screen. “Just a little…”
Click.
She heard the lock give way the same time the alien did.
The collar loosened and he tore it from around his neck. They exchanged another long look and she felt like she could read him without the words.
I’m going to get us out of here, he seemed to say.
She stared up at him, at the determination in his eyes and the set of his jaw.
Her own chin lifted.
For the first time in her entire life, trust bloomed from the rubble of her heart and she whispered, “I believe you.”
Four
Zar
He growled at the Heronas guard as he stood close to the human female. “I asked for privacy.”
“You don’t get to make demands here, Plutonian.”
He clenched his teeth, trying to keep himself still as the human did something to his collar. Zar had no idea if she knew how to move around the Heronas’s technology. As far as he’d heard, humans were vastly behind when it came to technological advancements.
Still, he had no other choice but to trust her.
Just as she seemed to trust him.
Zar had felt the weight of that trust the moment her eyes slammed into his.
Even beneath the fear, he saw fight in her.
He saw strength.
And that made Zar more interested in the human than he had a right to be.
But he could never get distracted.
Their goal was to escape.
This human was his ally.
His ticket to freedom.
His charge that he should protect at all costs.
“You asked for her to be untied and we did so,” the guard snapped. “We did not have to be so accommodating.”
“Coom oon,” the human whispered. Sweat ran down her cheeks as her fingers moved on his collar.
More time. We need more time.
Zar growled. “You insult me by thinking a fragile human female such as she would be able to get away from me. I do not need her hands tied to restrain her.”
“Get back in the comm’s line of sight, Plutonian,” the guard snarled.
“I am having a moment with my female.”
“Don’t let me tell you again.”
Click.
Zar glanced down and saw the female’s lips breaking out into a huge smile. She squealed, her dark eyes sparkling. Despite their grim surroundings, Zar saw sunshine stealing into the room. She made it bright and soft and warm with her dazzling grin alone.
His heras pumped faster.
A strange, tingling sensation spread through his venas.
The drugs.
It had to be the Heronas’s chemicals causing him to feel this way.
He sensed the collar slackening and tore the restraint from around his neck. Freedom tasted like bile slicking his throat. Smelled like the buildup of vomit in a bucket. Sounded like a human female panting in victory.
He held her dark brown eyes and dipped his chin. She had orchestrated his escape and he would protect her with his life.
Her smile turned soft and an understanding seemed to form between them. The tension that mounted made Zar feel like they were the only two beings on this planet.
But the door being unlocked tore him away from the female.
He heard footsteps and the jangle of keys.
The iron door began to swing open.
Adrenaline pounded through his venas and the anger he always lived with rose like a red wave of blood. He turned, keeping the human female behind him. Zar heard her breaths turning heavy. Felt them hit his back like tiny hammers.
She was frightened.
But she would soon see that she had no reason to be.
Zar smirked as the guard came into view. He was pressing the button on a small, digital remote. Cursing under his breath, the Heronas mumbled, “Why isn’t this working?”
Zar let the collar drip from his fingers. A loud crack echoed through the room. The guard froze in the doorway when he heard it. Zar stepped on the device, and it shattered beneath his feet.
He gave the guard time to make the connection, inhaled and then sprung into action. Dragging the guard into the comm’s blind spot, he released his spine dagger, snapped it off and slashed the guard’s throat.
Blood poured from the Heronas’s neck and he slumped to the ground.
The female shrieked, covering her mouth in horror as she watched the guard’s lifeless body. Was she afraid? Did she not want revenge for what the Heronas had done to her?
The guard’s blood slipped down Zar’s arm and mixed with the sweat on his fingers. Ignoring the mess, he grabbed the female’s hand and dragged her through the open door.
She stumbled behind him, her chest heaving and her lips clenched tightly. He could feel her disapproval, but it mattered not. All Zar cared about was escaping alive.
Footsteps thudded in the distance.
More guards.
He turned. “Stay in there.” He gestured to the prison. “Stay.”
The female widened her eyes.
Zar shoved her towards the open cell. There was no time to explain as one of the Heronas attacked him with the butt of a sword. He slapped it out of the guard’s hand, bringing his tail around to crush his head against the wall.
As he went down, the Heronas fired his weapon. It glowed and spit out a bullet close to the human’s head.
She shrieked and ducked.
Zar shouted at her, “Get to safety!”
Guards rushed toward him.
There were too many of them.
They kept pouring down the stairs.
He roared as one sliced his arm with a sword. Blood seeped profusely from the wound. It did not slow his movements.
Yet.
But it would.
There was only so much adrenaline he could use to maintain his en
ergy. After being held captive for two sun rotations and excreting every ounce of food he’d been given, Zar was severely malnourished.
He roared, sinking to one knee. Anger still pulsed in him, but it could not hold him up.
He would be overpowered.
In that moment, Zar heard the female shriek. “Geeeet dun!”
He whirled around and caught her hurling a deconstructed sword at the fray of Heronas. They all paused and watched the weapon sail through the air. It made a perfect arc before plunking in the midst of the guards.
Zar waited.
Nothing.
The guards began to laugh, and one kicked the weapon to his comrade. At that moment, the weapon exploded with enough force to knock him back. The Heronas were flung away.
Zar felt small hands tugging on his arm. He peered through the spots in his vision and saw dainty shoulders and a slim body covered in a tunic.
The female.
She ushered him to his feet and, together, they sped through the dungeon. The Heronas gave chase and the female started slowing down, unable to keep up with his stride.
Zar glanced back and realized he was several paces ahead. The female met his eyes. Fear tightened her mouth and she slanted a resigned look at the Heronas. He knew as well as she. If he waited for her, they would be taken again.
‘Are you going to leave me?’ her eyes seemed to say.
Zar’s heras ached for some reason. The female did not seem at all surprised by the thought. Only resigned to it.
Had someone left her behind before?
Whatever her reasons, he had no intentions of abandoning her. Sweeping the human up into his arms, he ran as fast as he could. She clasped her fingers around his neck, holding on tightly.
With every stride, a vow pounded in his heras.
He would never leave her.
Never.
Zar cared not what had happened in her past, who had left her before, or why she had ended up on a planet far from her home. As long as he was living, as long as he had breath and strength, not a hair would be harmed on this female’s head.
He cradled her close and swerved right, heading deeper into the Heronas’s layer. The female tapped his back and pointed left, indicating the stairs.
The Alien Warrior's Heart : A Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Plutonian Warriors Book 3) Page 2