The Zoran's Chosen (Scifi Alien Romance) (Barbarian Brides)

by Luna Hunter

  “Okay. I trust you, Lily. You know how special that is, right? Trust is what has gotten me in here. My life, and the lives of Zoran everywhere, are in your hands.”

  A shiver runs down my spine.

  No pressure…

  We head over to the tank and study the touch-screen next to it, as we try to figure out how to get him back in there, and how to make his stay inside ‘the hole’ as comfortable as possible.

  “How did Onyx rope you into this?” he asks as I scroll through the various options. “Who did you wrong?”

  “I signed a contract,” I say. “Like an idiot.”

  He raises an eyebrow. “You gave up your freedom willingly?”

  “I didn’t sign up for this, if that’s what you’re thinking. I was tricked. Bamboozled.”

  The screen flashes. An incoming message: Siya Onyx. My heart jumps into my throat, my palms instantly sweaty.

  “It’s her,” my voice croaks.

  “Answer it,” Marcas answers.

  “What if she already knows?”

  “Then it doesn’t matter. Answer it.”

  I run my hands down my body, take a deep breath, and answer the call. Her emotionless face fills the screen.

  “Miss Hamilton,” she says coldly. “How are you settling in?”

  “Good,” I say. “Thank you.”

  Her eyebrows furrow. “Is something wrong?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “You look sweaty.”

  “I, uhm, did some jumping jacks. Helps me come up with new ideas.”

  “Right,” she says. “Don’t sweat on the equipment, please. It’s all brand new.”

  Wow. “I won’t.”

  “Clean up the lab as best as you can, regardless. We have an important visitor coming in, and I’m sure he wants to see our Subject Y. It’ll do him some good, in light of… recent events.”

  “Ah, okay,” I say. “May I ask who it is?”

  “My little brother: Anik Onyx.”

  “Remarkable. Absolutely remarkable.”

  “I told you so. And to think you doubted me!”

  Chapter Four

  Marcas

  Great. Another Onyx headed down here. Anik Onyx: I’ve heard that name before. If I recall correctly, he’s the warden of Blackgate. The Prison Planet.

  If the others were captured, they might have been sent there. I don’t know that for sure; it’s just speculation. I wish I could just talk to them. I feel so isolated here, alone with only my thoughts of revenge.

  Although, now there is Lily.

  The human female throws me for a loop. I feel insanely attracted to her, to the point where I am acting completely out of character. I should be escaping, but instead, I find myself just drinking in her curvaceous figure and enjoying the view immensely.

  It almost makes me forget about the hatred I feel for the Onyx family.

  Almost.

  My fists ball up when I think about Siya Onyx. That snake will be down here any moment now. All I have to do is wait for her, and then I can finally smash her face through the glass cage, drown her in the water, make her feel what I felt…

  But — I can’t.

  I’m so close, closer than I’ve ever been, but I can’t do that. I must wait. I must bide my time. I must be patient.

  I’ve been patient for months — what is another day, right?

  That’s what Lily wants, and deep down, I know she’s right. We’ve got to get out of here and expose Onyx to the entire world. I can kill Siya and her brother, sure, but will that change the course of history?

  There’s dark, dark powers at play here… taking out one puppet won’t make a difference. There’s still the pater familias, the de facto leader of the Onyx family: Basil Onyx. Sure, the old bastard lets Siya take his place in the spotlight, but he’s the one calling the shots. He’s the one setting the course.

  And for reasons I can’t grasp yet, the course of history has turned against the Zoran. Lily showed me the report: Onyx is developing a biological weapon, codenamed FERAL, to use against the Zoran. The biological agent taps into the Zoran nerve system, overloading our brains, and in essence, turning us into bloodthirsty animals.

  That must be what they unleashed on my comrades on Pazar. For some reason, I am immune to it. Perhaps it’s my unusual skin tone? What I thought was my greatest weakness might have turned out to be my greatest strength. The irony of it all makes me chuckle.

  Or, well, strength? Is it really? It’s what has gotten me locked up in here, poked and prodded like a lab rat. I’m the guinea pig that’ll give Onyx the key to wiping out my entire species.

  If they create this weapon and set it loose on New Exon, there will be nothing left. My entire species will run itself into the ground…

  It’s enough to make me wish I’d never been born. No one can bear such a burden…

  “We have to move fast,” Lily says. “They could be down here any moment, and I have no idea how long it’ll take to fill up the tank.”

  I swallow the lump in my throat. Every inch of is telling me not to step into the darkness, but I know I have to.

  I have to trust the human, even though that is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

  It would be so easy not to trust her. To ignore her, to wait for Siya and attack her too. To go down in a blaze of glory. I wouldn’t have to witness the destruction of my own species…

  And, who knows, perhaps I’m making a huge mistake by trusting Lily. Maybe she’s working with Siya, in some type of sick, psychological experiment…

  Yet, when I look at the human female, when I gaze into those dark brown eyes of hers, I sense that I can trust her. I must give her the benefit of the doubt. She is the one that released me — in more ways than one — and she has showed me nothing but kindness. I should repay that trust.

  “Okay,” I say, stripping the scrubs off. I get back into place where the tank was. “Do it now before I change my mind, human.”

  Her eyes quickly dart down towards my cock, and her cheeks turn a fiery red as she heads over to the screen.

  I smirk to myself. Once we get out of here, once we’ve spread the word and saved the day and we’re absolutely safe… I’m going to bury myself inside of her. I’m going to make her scream my name. I’m going to empty my balls inside of her.

  That’s what I tell myself to take my mind off the water, the needles, the walls closing in on me. The thought of Lily gets me through this hell. It’ll be worth the wait.

  Lily taps a button and the glass dome is lowered down on top of me. Cold water pours in from above, and I shut my eyes and think of my happy place. Right now, that would be somewhere between the human female’s legs. A robotic arm grabs my arms and jabs a needle into my veins, and a mask comes down to cover my face.

  “Can you hear me?”

  I open my eyes to see Lily standing on the other side of the glass, her voice muffled by the water. I nod.

  “Do you want me to give you a sedative?”

  I shake my head. No. I want to stay conscious. I want to hear Siya Onyx’s voice. I want to be there.

  With my eyes shut I wait. Luckily, we don’t have to wait long. I can hear footsteps in the distance, and then, the doors opening.

  I fight the urge to ball my fists, and force myself to stay completely relaxed. No matter what happens, I can’t give myself away.

  “Well, well, well. What do we have here…”

  Chapter Five

  Lily

  “Well well well, what do we have here…”

  My heart is racing and my palms are clammy. In fact, all of my clothes are sticking to my body. It feels like the guilt is written all over my face.

  Siya looks at me, but her intense eyes seem to look right through me. If she suspects something, she’s certainly not showing it. My boss looks as immaculate as ever, her black hair pulled into a tight bun, her eyebrows perfectly plucked. There’s not a single hair out of line.

  Now, her brother? That’s a diffe
rent story. Anik Onyx is standing in front of the glass cage, sneering at Marcas’s naked figure. He’s tall and gauntly, dressed in all black, his dark hair resembling a mop.

  “Not so tough now, are you? Huh?”

  He taps the glass, but I’m glad to see Marcas doesn’t respond.

  “He can’t hear you, Anik,” Siya says derisively.

  “I don’t care,” he sneers. He turns to me, his eyes wild and crazy. The bags under his eyes are deep, and there’s hints of bruises all over him. In short, he looks like an absolute mess.

  “Wake him up!” he bellows.

  “No,” Siya says curtly. “We need him. Alive.”

  She stresses that last word in a way that makes me very uncomfortable.

  “Come on, give me a crack at him,” Anik whines. “You know what they did to me?!”

  His eyes turn wide as he looks at me, spittle raining down on the ground.

  “You know what they did to me?!”

  I shake my head.

  “Lost your voice?!” he barks.

  “N-no,” I say, licking my dry lips. “I do not know what they did you. Sir.”

  “Stop bothering her,” Siya says, folding her arms. “No one wants to hear about you letting the universe’s biggest criminal escape from your grasp, Anik. For Christ’s sake, you had Torin in your grasp and you let him go! Handed him right over to the Resistance, that little merry band of Zoran runaways.”

  From the corner of my eye I can see Marcas stirring in the water, just a slight movement, but luckily the two siblings are too busy fighting to notice.

  “In fact, you should be happy father even came for you!” Siya continues. “You are a disgrace to our family’s name.”

  Anik turns to me. “What a loving sister I have! And this is her being nice, too!”

  “Stop talking to the help,” Siya snaps. Her voice is filled with venom but her face barely moves, like she’s afraid of getting wrinkles. “She works for me.”

  “Us,” Anik says. “She works for us.”

  I don’t work for either of you two creeps!

  He walks up close to me, as if he can read my thoughts. I back away until I bump into the table. He gets up real close, so close I can feel his breath on my face, his eyes studying me like a lab rat. My hands search the table for something to hit him with.

  “Nice work,” he mutters. “Real nice. What version are you on?”

  “Anik!” Siya says sharply.

  He rolls his eyes. “Right, right.”

  He backs off and I breathe a sigh of relief.

  “Still can’t see why you won’t let met just have this one. He’s outlived his usefulness.”

  “We need him alive, Anik. How many times do I have to tell you?”

  “Surely you just need his DNA?”

  Siya’s com beeps. “I have to take this,” she says curtly. “I expect you to leave my help alone,” she tells her brother.

  “Yeah yeah, sure,” he says.

  I never thought I’d be unhappy to see Siya Onyx go, but right now I’d rather have her in the room with me. Anik gives me the creeps. As I feared, the moment the doors close behind his sister, he whirls around and turns to me.

  I quickly reach into the drawer behind me and pull out a scalpel, holding it behind my back. If he tries anything… I’m ready.

  “Whatever she’s paying you, I’ll triple it!” he says.

  “What?”

  He glances at Marcas, still floating absentmindedly in the tank. “You see, I’ve been through a bit of a… rough spot. I need a distraction. I need to get even. You understand, don’t you?”

  I don’t move an inch.

  “Give him to me, and I’ll get even,” he growls, his voice twisted and sick.

  “I don’t understand,” I say.

  He turns back to Marcas, his fingernail dragging across the glass. “Look, I know my sister has got you working on something, but I’m sure you don’t need him alive. Take all the tissue samples you need, all that I’m asking is that you bring him to me. Alive.”

  My mind is working overtime. It’s clear this man is dangerous, insane even, yet he may just offer us a way out of here.

  “How?” I say, trying to keep my voice as neutral as possible. “I can’t operate the elevator.”

  He rolls his eyes. “Classic Siya,” he mutters. “Making everyone a prisoner.”

  He reaches into his pocket and slams a keycard on the table so hard I flinch.

  “You’ll find that this little card opens every single door in this whole damn facility. It’s my personal one, so don’t lose it.”

  I quickly snatch it up. “I won’t. Where, uhm, do you want him?”

  “I have a ship,” he says. “The docks. Second level. Bring him to me. Tonight.”

  “Do you think they’ll take the bait?”

  “How can they not? It’s too juicy.”

  “What about your brother?”

  “He can finally make himself useful for once.”

  “You are ruthless.”

  “That’s why I’m your favorite, father.”

  Chapter Six

  Marcas

  I drop down to my knees, the water being siphoned away all around me. I look up at Lily with a broad smile.

  “They’re alive!” I say. “Alive!”

  “Who?”

  “Torin, of course! Torin! He escaped Blackgate!”

  How, I do not know. It’s the most well guarded facility in the entire universe. That must be an amazing story. I cannot wait to ask him!

  “And the Resistance!” I continue. “Siya mentioned the Resistance, Zorans resisting them… that must be the rest of my crew!”

  I run up to Lily and grab her shoulders firmly.

  “You know what this means, don’t you?” I say, shaking her out of pure excitement. “We have to reach out to them!”

  She stammers, and I follow her eyes right down.

  Right.

  I’d almost forgotten that I am completely naked and dripping wet.

  “Sorry,” I say as I let go, my hands leaving wet marks on her shirt.

  “It’s fine,” she says with a small smile. “That man gave me the creeps, though.”

  “Anik.”

  “Yes. You didn’t see him, but he had crazy eyes. Like he wanted to cut you to pieces. Literally.”

  “He is the warden of Blackgate — and Torin escaped. That must be humiliating for him.”

  I can’t stop smiling. Finally, some good news.

  “Do you have the keycard?”

  Lily pulls it out. “Right here!”

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “We bust out of here — tonight?”

  “Exactly!”

  I can’t help but laugh. When the Onyx siblings came down, I was afraid our plan would be ruined. Instead they have just given us the key to get out of here — literally.

  Lily takes a deep breath. “Are we really going to do this? It’s… it’s crazy.”

  “It is. But waiting here is not an option either. This is our chance. We have to take it.”

  I grab a towel and dry off, and then slip back into the scrubs that Lily had hidden just in time. The human female sits down behind her desk and pulls up a few screens, her hands moving across the keyboard in a blur.

  “What are you doing?” I ask.

  “Checking to see if I can find any information… here.”

  She pulls up a map of the entire Onyx compound.

  “See, the docking bay is here, so we take the elevator, and then take a right. There’s a small guard outpost, and then we should be in the clear.”

  “How did you do that?” I ask in awe.

  She shrugs. “I guess I’m pretty good at this sort of thing.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “Pretty good? I’m certain you just hacked one of the best security systems in the world in less than a minute. Pretty good is an understatement.”

  She blushes. “I just… tried, and it worked. I don
’t know what to tell you.”

  If she was anyone else, I’d think they were pulling my leg, but one look in Lily’s brown eyes assures me that she’s telling the truth. She has secrets of her own, a past I’m not yet privy to.

  I glance up at the clock. We have some time to kill before we put our plan into motion.

  “Tell me something about yourself,” I say.

  “I’m not really that interesting, trust me.”

  “You’re the most interesting that has happened to me in a long while. Where did you grow up?”

  She looks up at the ceiling, as if she’s thinking really hard on it. It’s undeniably cute. “You know, around. My childhood was normal.”

  “Normal? That’s it? No stories?”

  Lily shrugs again. “I don’t know what to tell you. I haven’t thought back to those times for what feels like forever.”

  She is like a book I cannot lift the cover off. I’ll have to come back to this later. We spend the afternoon planning our getaway.

  “Alright, let’s go over our plan one more time before we go.”

  “You lay down on the table,” Lily says. “And you lay as still as possible.”

  “Right.”

  “And you are naked, with a sheet covering you.”

  “Correct.”

  “I will wheel you to the elevator, up to the second floor and past the guards. Hopefully, they’ll back off the moment we drop Anik’s name.”

  “And if not, I’ll spring into action right away, and we’ll take it from there.”

  “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  “Neither do I. But I’ll be ready. And if we do get past them, we’ll head for Anik’s ship.”

  “Yes, and we’ll…”

  “We’ll see what happens once we get there. Hopefully he’s alone. I’ll be able to take him easily.”

  “What if he isn’t?” Lily asks, biting her bottom lip. “This is a bad plan.”

  “No, it’s the best type of plan. We roll with the punches. I’ve got this, Lily. Trust me.”

  She’s shivering, her face looking pale, and I know I need to comfort her. I walk up to her and grab her hands, which snaps her out of her panic attack.