It was the only time I have seen Zakar scared. Yes, something happens to him when he is near certain frequencies.
But that’s all I know. It’s not a science. It’s just one observance, and I could be wrong.
She sighs. “Well, the network is shot to hell. The cables are frayed. The only guy I trust to fix the power has turned against us.”
“Then we must escape before Zakar does. The fuel is in the first team’s starship. We must be careful.”
We’ll leave tomorrow morning, early.
She glances at the exit to the upstairs, but she’s smart enough to know the stakes.
“If I stay, you’ll protect me? You promise to keep me alive?” she asks.
I move closer to her. Caressing my palm underneath her chin, I look into her eyes. “If you stay, I will do anything for you.”
She brushes my palm away, but she stays near.
I look like a monster because I am a monster. But she will learn to love me.
As much as I want to fuck her pussy into submission, I need to make sure we can survive.
I want to save her, but Zakar’s greed is stronger than his genetics.
He will find us.
And when he does, I’ll find a way to end him for good.
Seven
Naomi
Spending the night with a possessive alien is not what I planned to do when I got to Avalon.
No, I did not think I would have to nuzzle against this beast’s chest to find warmth in the middle of the night. I sure as hell didn’t envision that same alien to be butt-ass-naked.
I didn’t expect him to be so… chiseled.
And warm.
And… okay, he’s not that bad. For a killer, he’s actually kind of nice.
I can’t believe I’m thinking any of these things. It’s the obvious wrong choice of words, but they flow on their own accord.
Yeah. This caught me off guard. Between Fassbender’s betrayal and this, I’m not sure what to think.
Part of me is terrified. Another part of me thinks this is the smartest route to take.
I mean, honestly. Fassbender has the crew hostage. Halloway ran away, and I really have to wonder if he’s coming back.
If that alien didn’t save me, I’d be dead.
“I had no one growing up,” I mutter.
His eyes are closed, but I can sense that he’s a light sleeper.
A groan reverberates from his massive sternum. “Hm?”
“On Earth. I never really had a family,” I say. “I’m not what you think I am. I’m not like everyone else. My experience was different, too.”
I don’t know why I’m telling him this. I don’t need him to understand who I am and have become. Besides, he’s been through worse. I wasn’t created in a laboratory on a remote planet.
I was just a girl who got caught up in some bad luck. That happens to many people.
He takes my hand, and I try so hard to hold back tears. I hate him for our predicament, but it’s not his fault.
I’m stronger than this. Over the decades, I’ve built a fortified wall. I did it to protect myself. I did it to move on with my life.
News flash: no one moves on from the bad things in their life. They just learn how to deal with it.
I can deal with this alien. It’s just another thing that caught me off guard.
He rolls and sits up, and I can’t help but stare at his rippling abdomen muscles. He truly is a specimen to behold.
“You are different,” he says.
“You believe me?” I ask.
“Because of how I’m built, my eyes process information much faster than any human. One look, and I knew you weren’t like them,” he says.
But there’s a punishment for being so good. I can’t leave. Well, technically, I can. Except, Fassbender and Zakar would find me in hours.
It doesn’t matter how free I am, something always stands in the way.
He rises. His body towers above me, naked. His flesh is solid as a rock.
On Earth, of course, his outfit would be unacceptable. Here, life is savage and untamed. Naked is what he’s used to.
I’m not sure my body knows how to react. My eyes can’t stop staring. How can I want to run away from something so bad, yet be so curious that I stay?
I know the consequences, but they don’t seem to matter.
He chuckles and offers me his massive hand. I take it, and he hoists me off my feet. “I am Turin,” he says.
Carrying me up the stairs, he holds me with ease. “I’m, uh, Naomi,” I say.
Quietly, he carries me to another room. Once inside, he sets me down.
“This room is where they kept and observed us,” he says.
In the center are two beds. The rest of the room is empty and white. Near the cots, a large glass tablet lay shattered on the floor. I bend and trace my fingers over the pieces.
He says, “They showed us violent images. Movies from Earth, cut to teach us how gruesome your species can become. They made us tap into our predatory mind. After years of this torture, anger became our core emotional state.”
I stand and face him. “I don’t like this place,” I say.
“Come, I’ll show you more,” he says.
Again, he leads me into a room nearby. Inside are tablets that are still barely running. “Spare battery power,” he says, tapping against the transparent screen.
He pulls up footage. Violent footage. The scientists who came before us were no scientists at all. They were paramilitary. Trained to antagonize and abuse.
Oh, God. Is Fassbender part of the same group? Did he bring us here, knowing he’d need our expertise this time around?
My first instinct is to look away, but what I’m seeing is real.
Far too real.
The paramilitary thugs beat the aliens. Every last one of them. They ridicule and torture them. Wearing masks, they shock them with electrified rods.
“I can’t watch anymore,” I say.
“I’m sorry for showing you,” he mutters. “I wanted you to know what your people have done.”
My heart is flustered. “Can we go, now?”
But before he can react, his head jerks toward the hallway. His lips twitch, showing sharp teeth.
He turns off the display and whispers, “Someone’s here.”
I don’t hear a thing, but his ears twitch as if he can hear miles away. “What do we do?” I ask.
He grabs my arm and pulls me near him, searching. Together, we run through the hallway, past a series of rooms. We’re near the main hallway, but I can hear them now.
They’re close.
“Shit,” he curses.
We run and find a door that leads into a narrow compartment. As the footsteps grow louder, we hide.
Someone is coming.
The door creaks, and the light tap of a heel sends off all alarms in my body. They’re in the hallway.
They’re walking toward us. Their movements are slow and deliberate, as if they are doing this to torment us.
I’m terrified, and I’m cowering up against Turin’s chest again. Without thinking, I lean my forehead against his abdomen and clench my eyes shut.
In the center of the door is a small, rectangular window. Anyone can see inside if they look in our direction.
I’m freaked out. Nauseated and holding back tears, I bite my cheek to stay quiet.
The footsteps stop. Only for a moment.
Silence, spare the dripping noises coming from the damp ceilings.
But as soon as I calm, a sharp clicking noise issues from outside our door. It’s Zakar, the alien Turin has been hiding me from.
He grows louder, growling. Finally, he bellows out, “Turin!”
The urge to scream is too strong, but Turin is two steps ahead of me. Wrapping his massive palm around my mouth, he restrains the noise.
Zakar’s nose is going wild. He drops to sniff the floor, following our footsteps in the other direction. “I’ll find you,” he
growls.
Another voice interjects. “Turn around,” Fassbender says.
Tears run down my eyes. It’s hard to put into words, but when you’ve been lumped together on a ship, charging through space, it’s hard to grasp how someone can turn against the group.
This mission united us, but it’s apparent now that this mission was compromised from the start.
I suppose he was just a dishonest actor, trained for combat. Roy knew all along. Hugh was lucky enough to catch him.
We should have listened.
I can hear Zakar’s footsteps, but I don’t want to turn and look. In fact, when I open my eyes again, all I see is Turin’s massive body. All I feel are his biceps as he wraps his arms around me.
And despite the fear that wrecks my nerves, I feel good. I want him to ease my pain.
I fall into a feeling I haven’t felt since, well, maybe puberty. I’m not sure what it is. It’s just a feeling, a connection to something higher than myself.
Am I actually turned on by an alien?
I relax into his protective muscles and keep quiet, bending my head to see as much as I can without getting caught.
Zakar is not the same species as Turin. His skin is spotted, red and grey. His teeth hang from his lips, sharp as nails, and his eyes are more wicked than the devil himself.
When Zakar does not answer him, Fassbender walks until he’s near our door.
I press my spine into Turin’s chest. I can feel his heart. It’s steady. How the fuck is he so calm?
I can hear Fassbender’s hurried breathing. His face is as white as a ghost. He’s worried. More worried than I’ve ever see him.
Zakar hisses. “You will be a fun kill,” he says.
Using the tranq gun, Fassbender opens fire. Three darts fly into Zakar’s neck and chest, but the alien laughs and tosses them to the ground.
“Your weapons are useless, human,” he growls and leans low.
He looks like he could strike at any moment.
Fassbender stumbles back, even falls to the ground, but Zakar allows him to stand and take out a pistol.
He fires once and pauses, trembling. He fires again. When the third bullet enters where Zakar’s heart should be, Fassbender drops his arm to his side.
He swallows, sweat building.
And then he turns. He sees us.
His pupils dilate, pinholes to fear. Before he can scream, Zakar pins him to the ground. Roaring into the air, he nearly blows my eardrums.
“You are sick,” Zakar screeches. “Your mind is diseased.”
Fassbender stutters. “We are your makers. Stand down.”
Zakar traces his fingernails across his skull. “It would be so easy to crack your head open.”
He lifts Fassbender by his cranium.
“Easier than cracking an egg,” he says, slurping his tongue.
He throws Fassbender across the room, through an unbroken glass window. Fassbender coughs and tries to move, but Zakar lunges on him, clicking.
His fangs extend, a row of teeth, unhinging his jaw until his mouth opens as big as his entire head.
It’s the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen.
“No!” Fassbender screams. “No, I can’t die—”
Zakar laughs and steps off of him. “Run while you can.”
Given the chance to live, Fassbender stumbles and runs into the jungle for cover.
At this point, Turin grabs my attention. Pointing toward a vent, he nudges me up. I grab the frigid metal, and he hoists my ass upward.
I expect him to give me a set of instructions, but he simply closes the vent. I tap against the exit, but he ignores me.
Zakar cackles. “I can smell you, Turin. I know you’re hiding. I let the bastard go because I wanted to share his death with you. Come outside.”
I don’t want Turin to leave this closet, but he does what he thinks is best.
He steps out of the narrow area and growls. “I smell her,” he says.
Zakar sniffs and turns, laughing again. “Where is the cunt? I thought you’d have found her by now.”
“I did, but I only caught a glimpse of her fair skin and plump ass,” he says.
I swallow and close my legs. A combination of shame, embarrassment, and excitement creeps through my core.
He saved me twice.
I want him. I want that alien to fuck my brains out, but I’d never admit it. Not even to myself.
He continues. “The traitor started shooting at me. He hit me in the arm and stomach, but I got to safety. I’ve been here, healing,” he lies.
Zakar grimaces. “You are not as strong as I am. You must learn to be careful.”
“You’re right,” Turin says. “I learned my lesson today.”
Zakar slithers around him. “But you saw our prize, yes? Are you overjoyed?”
The truth comes out. “As soon as I saw her, I knew I needed to breed her. I wanted her as my forever.”
Breed? His forever?
I back into the vent a few inches and feel every muscle tighten around my bones. Is that all he wants from me? To impregnate me?
Whoever gets the girl first wins – Is that the game?
Zakar’s face contorts, and his nostrils widen. He inhales and huffs. “I can smell her on you. Are you sure you did not take her?”
“I was so close, I could taste her,” Turin says.
Zakar clenches his fist with excitement.
“I trust you will find her and bring her to me. We’ll meet after I hunt this pitiful creature,” he says. “Are you sure you don’t want to join me?”
“I can’t risk her dying,” Turin says.
“Good,” Zakar grunts. “I must go. I have injured the male prey. It won’t be long before I tear out his spine.”
Turin’s laughter drops off as soon as Zakar leaves.
I wait until Zakar is long gone before dropping from the vent.
I don’t know what to feel. On the one hand, I appreciate Turin’s protection. It doesn’t change the words that just came out of his mouth.
I am not here to be bred like a dog. That will not happen.
When Turin sees me, his skin glows luminescent. At first, it startles me. Then, I remember the first time I saw him. It brightened then, too.
“What do you want with me?” I ask.
He traces his fingers through my hair. “You know what I want.”
He turns and starts walking. I’m a little stunned by the response.
Attempting to change the subject, he ushers me back downstairs. “Are you hungry?” he asks.
“Hungry? Are you kidding?” I ask.
He walks over to a crate and pulls out a few Twinkies. My stomach betrays me.
Turin wags the bags in front of my face. “You sure you’re not hungry?”
I grab both of them and tear open the bags. Within seconds, my mouth is stuffed.
He chuckles. “It’s fun to watch you eat those,” he says.
I stop chewing. “Shit. I should have saved some for you,” I say, mouth full of the treat.
He sits. “Don’t worry. I do not eat. I absorb,” he says.
I remember the bodies we found. They didn’t have stomachs like we did.
“Absorb? You mean like...” I try to find the words, but I quickly realize that I have no reference point to start on. He’s anthropomorphic, has huge muscles, and a similar system to ours. How can someone like him not eat?
He cracks his neck. “I am a highly adaptable organism built to be advantageous over most foes. If I hunger, I can absorb another life-form’s cells.”
“So… when you touch something, you take a part of them,” I say.
“I become a part of them,” he corrects me. “It does not hurt the other. It simply gives me a benefit.”
His body is as strong as a tank, but he is built for more than killing. He is built for understanding. It might be the only thing we can rely on.
As I stare at him, he glows. I know what that glow means.
/> He wants me. It’s no secret. But it’s more than strange lust. It’s a real tenderness.
Odd, coming from a predator.
“What about me?” I ask. “Are you going to absorb me, too?”
He now looks over my body. His finger curls around my collar bone.
“Only if you want me to,” he says.
I know it’s bat-shit-crazy.
I understand how illogical and stupid, and terribly wrong it is. I know all of this.
But I do want him…
I want him to absorb, real bad.
Eight
Naomi
There’s only one thing on my mind. I’ve been thinking about it for hours. “Why did you tell Zakar you would… breed me?”
My lower lip twitches. It’s not a question I ever expected asking anyone, let alone a six foot tall alien.
“I was telling him what he wanted to hear,” he says with a dull smile. “Maybe it’s what you wanted to hear, as well?”
I turn my head and stare at the metal floor of the facility. If I avoid eye contact, all of the awkwardness will go away. Right?
Wrong.
He’s here, and he’s not going away. His cock is a throbbing masterpiece, but I’m just a normal woman, and dear God, I can’t think!
He chuckles and caresses the back of my head. For a second, I wonder if he’ll kiss me. He teases me instead, whispering delicate words against my ear. “Admit it. I make you wet.”
My legs seize up and close. I suck in my lips and breathe through my nose. He nailed it. I’m wet, but I can’t let him know.
His cock would tear me to pieces.
“You want to know what I think?” I ask him.
He lowers his eyelids and grins. “I do.”
I push past him, nearly knocking him over. “I think we need to find that fuel,” I say.
A slow growl rolls from his throat. “Fine. Follow me.”
We leave the facility.
The surroundings of the jungle are eerily quiet. I understand that nothing lives here, but the silence still gets to me.
This is a “tropical zone,” whatever that means out here. I should be complaining about all the alien mosquitos biting my neck. In an ideal situation, I’d be fighting off jungle hogs and catching fish for food.
Alien Breed: A Sci-Fi Alien Romance Page 5