Markon's Claim: A SciFi Shifter Romance (The Last Alphas of Thracos Book 2)

by Marina Maddix

  “They’re not Terrans anymore,” Strabo said, stepping forward. “They’re Wargs. And Natalie is one of ours, or soon will be.”

  He shot me a look and dipped his head in a curt nod. I never would have imagined Strabo supporting me, much less an ‘alien interloper’. It would have been less surprising if he’d suggested kidnapping Natalie’s sisters and turning them over just to get rid of them. Maybe he wasn’t such a troublemaker after all.

  “I say we storm the meadow and tear him limb from limb!” he shouted.

  Or maybe he was.

  Several males cried out in agreement. As impressed as I was that Natalie had earned their loyalty, I wasn’t about to risk her life for a show of Warg pride.

  “Stop!” I roared, drowning out everyone else. Once I had their attention, I continued. “Didn’t you hear what Teema just said? He has the advantage. Somehow he knows we don’t want her harmed and is willing to bet we won’t attack.”

  “We can’t just sit here and do nothing, Markon,” Strabo seethed.

  Raking a hand through my hair, I grabbed a fistful and pulled. Maybe the pain would clear my head. It didn’t. None of this made sense.

  “Teema, are you telling me this Terran entered our village undetected and kidnapped Natalie?”

  She couldn’t meet my gaze. Fear and anger boiled inside me, and if she didn’t answer me soon, she’d leave this hall thinking Thrane was the reasonable brother. The growl rumbling through my body said as much.

  “I…she…” Taking a deep breath and a big gulp, she looked me in the eye. “She was determined to go into the forest, Markon. Nothing I said would stop her.”

  “Why didn’t you come get me?” I snapped

  She winced but pressed on. “Because she would have been gone by the time we got back, and we wouldn’t have known which direction she went. The Great Elders only know what might have attacked her by the time we tracked her down.”

  My fingers itched to hit something, someone. Rikor must have sensed it because he stepped in front of his mate in a not-so-subtle move to protect her from my wrath. But I had no desire to hurt Teema. I just wanted to find Natalie.

  Teema peered around her mate. “Markon, I thought it would be safer to escort her to the meadow myself, rather than risk her going alone.”

  “What happened out there?” Chayma asked, pushing through the crowd and grasping Teema’s hand in support. Tears trickled down Teema’s pallid cheeks but the fierceness never left her eyes.

  “I was keeping an eye on the tree line while Natalie looked for more of her blasted samples. I thought that’s where any threat would come from, the forest. But he was hiding in the middle of the field the whole time. I was investigating a noise when he grabbed her. By the time I turned around, he had a weapon pressed to her head.”

  A shiver of fear rippled through me. Natalie, my heartsong, was alone with a madman. He might think he was safe in the middle of the meadow, but grumpuses wouldn’t care that her life was at risk. They’d simply camouflage themselves as wildflowers and attack.

  All eyes turned to me, waiting for my command. No doubt, Thrane would have run into the field with the full force of the Hill tribe behind him. But I refused to risk Natalie’s safety that way. I couldn’t — wouldn’t — lose her now that I’d found her.

  “We’re going to try talking some sense into this Terran,” I finally said, as much as it galled me. My beast roared in defiance.

  Strabo grumbled his contempt for my plan. “You should take all of us. We could circle the meadow and attack when he lets his guard down. No alien scum is going to get away with abducting one of our own.”

  A few of his supporters mumbled their agreement but my cold stare silenced them.

  All of this was happening so fast. Too fast. My brain spun circles on itself, trying to make sense of the impossible, trying to settle on the best strategy, but there were too many variables. Too much unknown.

  I might not know what was around the corner, but two dedicated alphas taught me what my priorities should be. First and foremost, my tribe. I was responsible for the safety of each and every member. A sort of calmness washed over me, surprising me, and I knew what I had to do.

  “And what if this is only a diversion, Strabo?” I looked around the room, trying to catch the eye of anyone who seemed to doubt my plan. “An alien force could be surrounding the village as we speak and is just waiting for the bulk of our warriors to rush off, leaving our women and whelps unprotected.”

  Strabo frowned but said nothing. Heaviness fell on the crowd as the gravity of the situation settled on their hearts.

  My own tightened in my chest at the risk I was taking, but I could see no other option. If we rushed the meadow, Natalie and the village were at risk. There was no more risk to her if I tried to negotiate with the alien, possibly less, plus the village would be protected.

  “Rikor, Pantik, and Triftor are with me. The rest of you, we’re on high alert. Set up the perimeter guard and don’t let anyone or anything through, got it?”

  “What about us women?” Chayma asked. “A few of us could watch over the whelps, while the rest of us prepare for battle.”

  A few of the men snorted at the suggestion, but Chayma’s fiery glare shut them down.

  The females of the tribe had been lobbying to learn how to fight, and this was as good a time as any to start the process. If the council didn’t like it, they could oust me when I returned with Natalie. If there was a village to return to. I sent a silent prayer to the Elders of the Warg that this was a lone alien and not an ambush.

  “Any female who wishes to guard the village may do so,” I called out so everyone inside and out could hear. A wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd. “All others will remain barricaded in the koshu with the whelps.”

  “No.” The word was spoken so softly, I couldn’t place where it came from. Teema stepped around Rikor and looked me full in the face. “I’m going with you.”

  Rikor grabbed her arm to pull her back but she shrugged him off. “Teema, don’t be ridic—“

  “Quiet, Rikor. I’m going with you.”

  “I admire your bravery, Teema,” I said, “but I can’t allow you—“

  “I’m going, Markon,” she interrupted. “Whether you allow it or not, I’m going. Natalie was my responsibility and I failed her. I have to make this right. I’m going with you.”

  A mixture of pride and anger and love flickered in Rikor’s eyes. He caught my glance and shrugged, as if to say, “Like we could stop her.”

  “Fine,” I sighed. “But you’ll be in the middle of us the entire time, is that understood?” Teema pressed her lips into a grim line that I took as agreement.

  The mood in the hall was bleak as we made our way through the press of bodies. Several males slapped our backs and wished us luck, but after we passed, I overheard someone whisper, “I wish Thrane was here.”

  So do I.

  23

  Natalie

  Hank’s laser gun dug into my lower back, never relenting. He’d let me sit down, even though he sat so close his body odor nearly made me gag. It shouldn’t have surprised me that he didn’t bother bathing all this time, but it did. It seemed like common sense that strong odors would attract all sorts of unwelcome attention. At least the tall grass and flowers hid us from any passing grumpuses — unless they could smell us, then we’d become lunch after all.

  It seemed hours had passed since Teema had run off toward the village, but it probably wasn’t any more than an hour. Time had slowed down. But any moment now, Markon would break through the foliage and save me. Hopefully.

  “Did you stupid whores really think you could get away?” Hank snorted in my ear. He sat behind me but enough to the side that I could just make out his scruffy, hateful profile looking up to the clear sky.

  “If we’re just stupid whores, why does anyone care? You should be glad to be rid of us.”

  “Commander Wrent needs you alive.”

  I wa
s tempted to ask why, but from what I remembered, Hank liked to be finessed. That particular skill wasn’t my finest, but I wasn’t as hopeless as Sienna and Arlynn thought.

  “Is that why he left you out here all alone to fight off monsters with nothing but a puny laser gun?”

  Hank stiffened behind me then he relaxed enough that the gun’s muzzle no longer poked quite so deeply into my skin.

  “Yeah.” It wasn’t much, but he’d just revealed his true feelings about his mission, whatever it was.

  “I can’t believe he’d risk one of his most valuable guards for a few genetic rejects like us,” I said, shaking my head, the very picture of sympathy.

  “Me, either,” he sighed. An urge to slam my elbow into his nose came over me but I managed to restrain myself.

  “From a purely logical standpoint, it doesn’t make any sense. Why would he do such a thing?” I asked.

  “Doesn’t have any choice. He’s got a quota to fill and not enough graduates to fill it. You three were the last for this year.”

  Bastards! After we discovered — and thwarted — their plan to deliver us as ‘comfort maidens’ to military leaders, I’d suspected that we weren’t the first. It had to be an institutional conspiracy, reaching the highest level of leadership at the Training Center. Hank just confirmed it.

  I took a moment’s comfort that at least none of our friends had been shipped out since we left. Not for the first time since we commandeered the shuttle taking us to an unspeakable fate, an idea flickered in my brain. It wasn’t fully formed yet because I’d had too many other things distracting me to develop it. I vowed that if I actually managed to escape this asshole, it would come second only to finding the cure we needed.

  “Well, that sucks for him,” I finally said. “You know, I wasn’t lying before, Hank. Sienna and Arlynn were bitten and transformed into Wargs. I don’t think any general is going to want to get into bed with a big, furry wolf-monster, do you?”

  “Liar,” he muttered.

  “No, it’s true. They’re with the other tribe I was telling you about.”

  He remained silent. He so desperately didn’t want to believe me, but some part of him knew I was telling the truth. Maybe he wasn’t quite as stupid as I thought.

  Naaaah.

  “In fact,” I continued lightly, hoping this was the right play, “Sienna is mated to the leader of the other tribe.”

  “You’re kidding me!”

  “I’m not. Turns out they were fated mates. I’d be surprised if she wasn’t carrying his baby by now, the way they go at it.”

  I plucked a strand of the helixgrass and twisted it between my fingers the way Bandrin did in the lab when he was casting a good luck spell. Little magenta seeds scattered on my feet and I wished for Markon to get his ass to the meadow.

  “Fucking slut! It was supposed to be me, you know. I was going to pop her cherry that night.”

  Bubblyflesh broke out all over my body and I hid the shudder of revulsion that ripped through me with a coughing fit.

  “She told me,” I squeaked, holding back the bile that rose in my throat. “What a shame.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed, as if I wasn’t being sarcastic.

  I struggled to find a different topic, one that wouldn’t make me puke. I landed on one but it could prove tricky.

  “You know, I’ve been wondering how you’ve survived in the forest since the crash. Did your commander send supplies or something?”

  “No,” he sniffed, glancing at a green jay flying by overhead. He sounded like a petulant schoolboy. “He didn’t want to tip off the mutants by sending a supply shuttle.”

  “Really? Wow. You could have starved out here. Or maybe been some critter’s snack.”

  “You mean those weird lizard things?” Hank chuckled softly. “Yeah, a couple of them almost got me after you bitches wrecked the shuttle. Turns out, I didn’t need to be faster than them. I just needed to be faster than the other two guards.”

  This time my mouth did fill with bile that I could barely choke back down. Sienna had told me that she’d seen a large pool of blood at the crash site when she went back there once. He’d sacrificed his friends to save his own ass. I couldn’t loathe him any more than I did in that moment. Still, I had to pretend I was on his side, as dirty as it made me feel.

  “Still, how could he just abandon you like that?”

  I flicked the stripped stem into the grass to show my disgust at the treatment poor, neglected Hank received. Really, I was disgusted that grumpuses couldn’t manage to sniff out this stinky piece of trash.

  “He wanted me to observe, find out if you survived the crash. Said I should snatch any of you, if I had a chance.”

  “Guess you did,” I said, at a loss for what else to say.

  “Yup.”

  A loud rustling echoed across the field, signaling either Markon’s approach or a hungry forest creature. Hank dug the gun deep into my back again and forced me to stand. My pulse throbbed in my temple, and I wondered how this would all turn out.

  The thought of dying without ever being held by Markon again nearly buckled my knees. But the thought of living as someone else’s sex slave, after having known real love, would be utterly impossible. No, right then and there, I vowed I’d fight to the death before boarding another Terran craft.

  The leaves parted, and Markon stepped out into the sunlight, his hands raised and his golden skin sparkling. My body lurched in response, instinct taking over and telling me to run to him, but the constant pressure of Hank’s laser gun glued my feet to the ground. Four more Wargs followed, including Teema, flanking him and also holding up their hands. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Markon.

  My love!

  “One step closer and she dies,” Hank shouted, shifting the gun from my back to my brain.

  “We’re here to talk, Hank,” Markon said in smooth tones. Hank tensed.

  “How’d you know my name?”

  “Teema heard Natalie call you that earlier. My name’s Markon.”

  “You think I give a shit?!”

  I stared across the field at Markon, trying to send the message that I loved him, and that if this was to be my last moment on Thracos, at least I got to see him again. But he wouldn’t meet my eye. My palms grew damp with need for him to make eye contact. I didn’t want our stupid fight to be the last words spoken between us, but if we couldn’t talk, a meaningful glance would have to suffice.

  “Okay, I understand, Hank. You just want what you came here for, right?”

  “Exactly!”

  “Well, I’m sorry but we don’t have Sienna or Arlynn, Hank. Natalie is our only Terran guest.”

  I vaguely recalled something from my lessons at the Center about how negotiators learn to use the subject’s name frequently to develop a rapport. Somehow I doubted that Wargs had a very sophisticated negotiation-training program. Markon just knew to do it instinctively.

  “Yeah, that’s what she said,” Hank conceded, faltering in his enthusiasm.

  “Good, good,” Markon soothed. “You know, Hank, this doesn’t have to end badly for any of us.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  I thought I heard a tickle of hope in Hank’s voice, which sent adrenaline coursing through my system. I knew the resulting euphoric effect was purely a physiological response, but I didn’t care. Suddenly, the world seemed a little brighter.

  “That’s right, Hank. We can all walk away from this meeting, and live long and happy lives.”

  “How?”

  “Easy. You release Natalie, unharmed, and we’ll offer you safe passage back to your city.”

  Hank fell silent, then shook his head. “Bullshit! I let her go and you freaks will turn into monsters and kill me!”

  He was afraid, and fearful men could be unpredictable.

  “Hank, I’m Markon, Alpha of the Hill Warg, direct descendent of the Great Tribe of Thracos. I will personally guarantee your safety. If you release Natalie.”

  “And
you’ll protect me from those crazy lizard things?”

  “Absolutely, Hank. You’ll never have to be worried about grumpuses or hopwarts or orange widow spiders ever again. Wouldn’t it be nice to sleep in your own bed?”

  Hank looked to the sky and thought for a moment. Smoke practically trickled out from his ears at the effort.

  “What do you say, Hank? Will you set Natalie free and allow me to escort you back home?”

  A high-pitched whine filled the air around us. The field of grass and flowers waved and pitched like the ocean in a storm. The wind whipped around us like a tornado was touching down. We all looked around wildly, trying to figure out what was going on.

  A Terran shuttle came into view and hovered over the meadow. As it descended to the ground, Hank shouted over the din, a shit-eating grin plastered on his hateful face.

  “I’m gonna have to say…fuck off!”

  24

  Markon

  “We should shift,” Rikor muttered under his breath.

  He had a point. The doors to the alien craft had yet to open. We still held a slight advantage. If we shifted now and darted back into the forest, we would be safe. Or we could shift and surround the shuttle before the doors opened and maybe even kill a few of them. It only took one look at Natalie for me to shake my head.

  “They’ll take her, Rikor. Or worse. I know she’s not a Warg yet, but are you willing to lose her? I’m not. She could very well hold our entire species’ survival in her hands.”

  Not to mention my heart.

  “She’s one of us,” Teema added, shooting a hard glance at her mate. “She’s part of our tribe, like it or not. The rest of you can run, if you want, but I’m staying.”

  When Rikor reached for her, Teema jerked away and kept her eyes trained on the shuttle. He sighed heavily and gave me a look I understood perfectly. I’d felt that way many times since meeting Natalie. I can’t win, it said.

  “We’re going to try negotiating her release,” I explained. “If I fail, then we fight.”