Venomous Hunger (Eok Warriors Book 2)

by Mary Auclair

  Shitshitshitshitshit.

  Aliena’s mind raced like a trapped animal, refusing to recognize the obvious. She was going to die, and soon.

  Sheegar followed, a silent presence, his pitch-black eyes set on her like she was a doll and not a breathing, feeling woman just about to be hurled into the merciless depths of space. As he moved, her eyes caught on a small metallic object fastened to his waist.

  An ionic gun!

  Aliena’s eyes fastened on the weapon and she knew it was her only chance. The weapon was the only one in the entire floor, and getting her hands on it was a literal matter of life and death.

  Sheegar approached as Wyol waited, his alien black eyes set on her without blinking. She tried but she couldn’t read his expression, couldn’t understand if he was even displaying emotions. Finally, he stopped in front of Aliena and Wyol.

  She became very still, holding his surreal gaze without flinching. Begging and crying wasn’t going to do her any good. Pity was no salvation here, only a doorway to death. Whatever Sheegar was, he was not prone to view weakness with indulgence.

  “She is fearless.” Sheegar’s grating metallic voice was even, but his mandible clacked in a slow, almost pensive rhythm. “She would make strong offspring for her species.”

  “Don’t you fret about her species, or her offspring.”

  Wyol yanked Aliena around like she was a ragdoll, and all she could do to stop herself from biting her tongue was to clench her jaw so hard it hurt. There was no reason for the violence except that putting her to a blindingly fast and mostly painless death was frustrating his plans for her.

  Concentrating through the blurring of her vision, Aliena kept her focus on Sheegar. If she ever got half a chance to put her hands on that ionic gun, it surely wasn’t going to happen twice.

  Sheegar’s face twisted in the faintest traces of what Aliena could only interpret as a frown. His black gaze turned from her to Wyol.

  “Hurting the female is futile.” Sheegar inched closer, his face still etched with lines of disapproval. “It only shows weakness in your character that you choose to do so.”

  “You can’t tell me you don’t want a little taste of what the richest cocks in all the Ring get to fuck?” Long fingers closed around her throat and Wyol pulled her in to his body. She could feel his arousal at her back, hard and ready, turned on by the prospect of her pain and fear. “It’s such a waste, throwing her out without even sampling the goods.”

  Sheegar’s mandibles clacked angrily and the creature took a large step forward, his focus intent on Wyol. He was close enough that she could smell his peculiar, citrus scent.

  This was her chance.

  Seizing the seconds of inattention while Wyol and Sheegar were busy with each other, Aliena reacted. Her hands reached up and she grabbed one of Wyol’s fingers, then pulled it back as hard and fast as she could.

  The bone cracked before Wyol’s scream registered.

  Suddenly, she was free.

  Aliena plunged down and forward, toward Sheegar, who momentarily looked stunned. As she fell, she reached out with both hands for the ionic gun, knowing there would be no second chance here. The cold of the metal registered between her fingers.

  She’d done it!

  Aliena rolled on her shoulder, putting a precious few steps between her and her attackers before getting to one knee, the ionic gun pointed steadily at them, her finger on the trigger.

  “Stay the fuck where you are!” she shouted, not caring one bit if her voice shook. “I’ll put a hole in both of you if you so much as blink in a way I don’t like.”

  Sheegar twisted his body to face her, his mandible clicking fast, while Wyol turned a deadly expression her way.

  “You don’t have what it takes,” Wyol said through clenched teeth, cradling his injured hand close to his body. “It doesn’t make a difference if you’ve lived like a savage, you’re still just a human slave.”

  “And you’re still as dumb as the first day I got the upper hand on you if you think I won’t pull this trigger.”

  Aliena glared at the Avonie male, feeling the surge of rage fill her veins. She could end him right now, it would be so easy. He deserved it. Seconds passed, and she felt her finger move ever so slightly on the trigger.

  Then she stopped. That Wyol deserved it wasn’t the question. She wasn’t about to murder another person in cold blood.

  Slowly, she backed away until she reached a crossing of two large alleys between the crates. Not taking her eyes away from Sheegar and Wyol, she lifted the ionic gun to the ceiling and fired a single shot. An ear-splitting sound bounced off the metal walls, and a half-second later, the alarm system boomed to life.

  The power of detonation nearly made her lose her grip on the handle. Nearly, but not quite.

  “Now let’s see who’s going to take a space-walk.” Aliena brought the gun back to Wyol and Sheegar.

  Wyol’s mouth lifted in a predatory grin. “You’ve made a mistake.” He took a single step toward her. “Now you have only one shot left.”

  Aliena kept her gun pointed at him, but her eyes trailed to a single blinking light on the side of the deceptively small metallic device.

  “Maybe.” She brought her eyes back to Wyol’s. “But this means I can kill the first one of you who gets too close. Wanna try me?”

  She heard the tremor in her voice, the fear, but there was nothing she could do about it.

  Let them see if I won’t pull the trigger.

  Seconds slipped by as the deafening sound of the alarm filled the cargo hold. Finally, Wyol grunted, then turned on his heels and ran away.

  “Are you willing to die for that one?” Aliena stared at Sheegar, the gun steady in her hands. “He wouldn’t risk his life for you.”

  Sheegar held her gaze for long seconds, then he inclined his head in a surprisingly deferent gesture before turning around and disappearing after Wyol.

  She was alone again, but not for long.

  Soon, voices mixed with shouts as the sounds of boots on metal filled the cargo hold. Kamal’s crew was coming to investigate.

  “Aliena!”

  The sound of that voice resonated against her ribcage, and the ionic gun went clattering on the floor.

  Chapter 10

  Kamal

  Aliena stood alone on the platform, her small frame dwarfed even more by the size of the males massed around her. Their hostile eyes were set on her, anger pouring out of every pore of their skins, saturating the air in the large meeting room that was the center of the social activity aboard the Mellark.

  His crew. Outlaws, pirates, mercenaries. None would have pity for the small human female. Not after what she’d done.

  Shouts and accusations rang out, the words mixing together, losing their meaning. It didn’t matter, he knew what they wanted. The only possible sentence for firing an ionic detonation aboard a spaceship, endangering every life on board. It was just a miracle that the ionic detonation hadn’t pierced the hull of the Mellark, creating a breach that would have ended them all, if not most of them.

  Death. They were clamoring for her death.

  What have you done, Little Bird?

  Aliena turned around, speaking to them, but her words were lost in the roar of the crowd. Then she turned to the back of the room, to where Kamal sat in the captain’s chair. Her dark eyes settled on him, full of uncertainty and fear.

  She has no idea what she just did.

  A surge of protectiveness rose inside him, and he slowly got to his feet.

  “Careful.” Marmack spoke low enough to make sure only Kamal could hear. “They’re not in a forgiving mood. You know what our law calls for.”

  “I know the law, but they’re not going to get their pound of flesh this time.”

  Kamal glanced at his old friend. The other male stood straight, his features unaffected, but his eyes glowed with careful alertness. Tailan stood to his left, as silent as he’d ever seen her. Rage was clear on her features, but she did
n’t move. She knew the danger of the situation brewing in the gathering hall.

  For now. The Cattelan female would not stand for Aliena’s execution, he knew.

  And if Tailan got involved in the fight, then Marmack would follow.

  But it would never go that far. His limbs tickled with the need to tear into flesh, rip bones from bones and be bathed in blood for the protection of the one he could never be severed from. He was the strongest of them all and, in his current state, he could well kill them all. The only question was: could he prevent the senseless death of all his crewmembers?

  “Silence.”

  At the sound of his voice, the entire crew fell into a subdued silence. A good fifty pairs of eyes turned to him, fear at the forefront of most of them. Most, but not all.

  Kamal walked through the sea of bodies who rapidly dispersed as he advanced, his eyes fixed on the most infuriating female in the entire Ring. Finally, he stopped just at the base of the platform where Aliena stood in shocked silence.

  “This human has brought us the best deal we ever had. More units than you lot will know what to do with.” Kamal cast a deadly, circular glare around the large room. “You think her people will honor that deal if we hurl her into deep space?”

  “Fuck that deal!” someone shouted from the back of the crowd. “I say we tell her people to go fuck themselves.”

  A ripple of agreement traveled through the assembled males. They were too angry to see reason, too conditioned to meet the ultimate taboo of ionic detonation with swift justice.

  “Let’s throw her out the spacewalk door!” another shouted, and the crew inched closer around Kamal. Eyes turned cold and deadly. He was losing grip of the situation.

  “Are you this eager to return home without a single unit to show for it?” Marmack’s voice boomed, closer than Kamal anticipated. “We have no cargo, no payment. Is that what you want to bring your mates?”

  Marmack appeared at his side, tall and respected amongst his crew. Less feared than Kamal was, more loved.

  “I for one won’t.” Marmack turned and met the eyes of those who were screaming for Aliena’s life on a platter. “The female broke our law, that is true, but she didn’t know any better.”

  “She still has to be punished.” The same voice, far at the back of the crowd. “She could have killed us all.”

  Hostile suggestions poured out of their mouths, some shocking enough to have Kamal peer down at them with murder in his eyes. Instead of dead, they now wanted the female harmed, maimed and tortured. The males were growing unleashed, lust and cruelty having aroused them. They pressed on, their long arms reaching for Aliena on her platform.

  She cursed and kicked at them, shouting explanations and threats in rapid succession, managing only to feed their crazed hunger for violence.

  They’re going to rip her to pieces.

  Kamal called for silence again but they were too far gone. He met Marmack’s eyes, wide and suddenly uncertain. The message was clear. They had lost control of the situation.

  Rage boiled over the edge. Kamal felt it, annihilating everything else inside of him. No more reason, no more civilization. He was pure male wrath, protecting what was his at all cost.

  He jumped on the platform where Aliena was trying her best to keep the crew at bay. A roar grew in his chest, the sound a primal threat, spewing out of him as he grabbed the female, snatching her from harm and pulling her tightly against his body.

  “Mine!” The claim blanketed the clamor of the crowd. “She’s mine!”

  A hand reached up, coming at Aliena’s ankle, and Kamal struck. His talons shot out and slashed, leaving the bloody limb to roll down onto the metallic floor in a blaze of blood. The male who’d dared to reach for Kamal’s female howled in pain and shock, scrambling away as he cradled his maimed arm to his chest.

  “Mine!” Kamal could feel it rising, the taste of it on his tongue feeding a rage that was now mixing in equal parts with lust. The Mating Venom was back, and this time, it would do more than push him to the brink of insanity. “I claim this female as mine, and any single one of you who wishes to lay a finger on her will have to challenge me.”

  The crowd receded, leaving a healthy distance around the platform as Kamal’s claim registered in their minds. They knew pirate law. They also knew Eok laws.

  He had just claimed a mate. No one would dare to stand between him and the female now.

  I’m sorry, Little Bird, Kamal thought through his rapidly clouding mind. I meant for you to have a choice, but it’s me or death, and I won’t suffer to see you harmed.

  Aliena moved in his arms, trying to get away from him. Mating Venom trickled down his throat, pushing fire inside his bloodstream. His growl had her stiffening, and she turned wide, scared eyes to him.

  Somewhere, far in the back of his mind, he realized she had no idea what he’d just done, what he was about to do, but he was too far gone.

  “Turn.” His voice left his mouth, but it wasn’t his own anymore. It was the growl of some feral creature. “Don’t move.”

  Aliena swallowed, and he followed the movement down the softness of her throat. Her lips were shining with moisture and she was breathing so close to his mouth. His lips curled in a silent hiss, exposing his fangs. She nodded, then turned around as his hands closed on her body, molding her to him. His seed stem throbbed against her ass through the heavy fabric as her female scent invaded his nostrils, laden with the pheromones of fear.

  His need to possess her was an all-consuming ache.

  Blue light cast shadows on the skin of her cheek as he brought his mouth to the back of her neck, pushing the mass of her hair away. Already, his fangs dripped with the intoxicating liquid and he used his tongue to massage it into her skin. He could feel her heartbeat, fast and frenzied, just under his tongue.

  Victim to the erotic side-effect of the Mating Venom, Aliena arched her back and the softest feminine moan escaped her lips.

  The instinct to bite down was overwhelming, but Kamal refrained. Biting her there was dangerous, and he growled in frustration.

  His talons ripped the heavy synthetic leather, exposing a graceful shoulder.

  There.

  He bit down inside the curve of her shoulder, unrestrained. The Mating Venom flowed, entering her bloodstream. Aliena screamed in shock, then her scream turned to pleasure as the complex compound of chemicals brought about its intended end. She nearly collapsed in his arms as rapture traveled through her body, distracting her from the pain of the bite.

  He felt every ripple of the link between them snap into place. It dug inside each one of his cells like her very breath was etched with a dagger on the ivory of his bones. His lungs inflated as he breathed fast and deep, filling them with oxygen.

  Then his head snapped up, his jaws freeing Aliena’s shoulder. He could still taste her blood on his tongue, along with the Mating Venom, the liquids dripping from his lips.

  The song started as he kept her against him, the sounds flowing out of him in the mesmerized silence of the Mellark crew.

  No. This can’t be.

  His mind rebelled against the information even as his throat vibrated with the Bloodmating song, proclaiming to all a link that was as deep as the lifeblood in his veins.

  As the song ended, Kamal straightened, Aliena still in his arms. One last time, he cast a warning glare across the crowd, then bent and picked up his new bloodmate in his arms.

  Mine.

  Chapter 11

  Aliena

  “What the hell was that?”

  She stared at the broad expense of his back as Kamal braced himself against the sliding door. His breath came ragged and fast, his shoulders heaving deeply, the sound obscenely loud in the confines of his personal quarters.

  Her mind was swimming in circles after what had happened. Did she just orgasm in front of the crew of the Mellark, right after they were all screaming for her death? Did Kamal just bite her? Actually honest-to-goodness bite her?

&
nbsp; She couldn’t wrap her head around it. Could not wrap her head around anything that had happened since the crew dragged her to the upper levels—not to save her from Wyol and Sheegar, but to howl threats and accusations at her.

  I’m so fucking screwed.

  Long seconds passed as Kamal remained facing the door, his back turned to her.

  “What possessed you to smuggle yourself aboard my ship?” When he finally spoke, his voice was a deep guttural growl.

  “Are you serious?” Aliena almost choked on her words. Anger rose inside her, hot and strong, pushing the confusion and fear away. “I was almost killed out there, and that’s the first thing on your mind?”

  “You were almost killed because you fired an ionic gun aboard a spaceship.”

  Kamal turned around, and the sight of his face made her gasp. His eyes were still gleaming with this strange glow from within, so pale and blue it almost hurt her eyes. His sharp alien features were contorted in rage, and a bite of fear took hold somewhere deep in her belly at the sight. She had never been afraid of him, not since that first day in the forest, but she was now. What she saw in the Eok warrior’s face was more than rage, it was something of an entirely different scale.

  He looked like he wanted to rip the clothes from her body and eat her alive.

  “That’s why they wanted to throw you outside the spacewalk doors. If that detonation hadn’t caught in the internal frame, there would have been a hull breach. We’d all be dead. How could you do such a foolish thing?”

  “I only fired because Wyol tried to kill me!” Aliena shouted, allowing the anger to take over. “Would you have preferred that?”

  “Of course not!” Kamal shouted back, the strength of his anger almost making her shrivel into the corner in fear. Then he frowned, looking confused. “Wyol? What does he have to do with this? I didn’t even see him in the gathering hall.”