"He needs us and Mia or any of her children who may bear her mark," Titus replied calmly, piecing the puzzle together. "He could not kill us if he wanted to find the Heart of the Cat and capture the power of the gem. He ordered our deaths when it appeared that he would not be able to find Mia or her descendants."
"We do not even know Mia survived or if she had any cubs," Banu stated in an emotionless voice.
"Yes, we do," Vox said with a sharp-toothed grin. "If she had not survived, then our world would have fallen already. We have family to find, cousins. Whoever is working with Raffvin must be aware of the legend as well. If that is the case, they may be working on their own agenda and not necessarily with Raffvin."
"Great!" Titus growled out as he ran his hand over the back of his neck in frustration. "So, is there anyone out there not wanting to capture or kill us?"
"My lords"—a guard burst through the door suddenly—"Lord Vox, your mate has been taken!"
Chapter 23
Riley laughed at Tamia, Bob’s mate, as she related how she had captured the huge Gelatian’s attention. Bob just chuckled and rubbed against the large peach-colored female. They enjoyed the afternoon as Riley teased both of her former "mates" about abandoning her while they told their mates how she almost blew everyone up, not once but twice.
"Doral and I need to go to the market. Would you like to come?" Tamia asked politely. "It is not far."
"I would love to go!" Riley said with an excited grin.
Vox had kept her practically a prisoner at the palace. Okay, that might be a bit of a stretch, but she hadn’t been anywhere outside the ocean city and she wanted to see the beautiful ancient city. It reminded her so much of some of the pictures she had seen of the older cities in Europe and since she never got to see them, she figured she might as well enjoy this one.
"We will return shortly," Doral said, giving Fred a kiss on both lips with a blush.
"Very shortly," Fred’s left head responded with a soft growl while he held onto both of her hands for a little longer than necessary.
All three women laughed as Doral pulled free with a vivid blush covering her face. They picked up the baskets by the door that they would need to carry their purchases. Riley adjusted her oversized purse over her shoulder and nodded to the two guards that Vox left. She knew better than to argue with them following her around. Vox should have been born a bulldog because he wouldn’t budge on her wandering around without a couple of guards always tagging along.
"So where to first?" Riley asked as they stepped through the gate.
"There is a market where many different fruits, vegetables, and breads are sold. Bob does not eat meat, but Fred does. We will go to the market first. There is another market a few streets further where they sell beautiful cloth and other things," Doral replied as she moved rapidly through the crowded streets.
Riley followed the clipped pace Doral set. She might be small, but she was a bundle of energy. She was so happy her two friends had found someone to spend their lives with. Fred had told her that his older brother had been killed in a dispute over credits, and his father wanted him to return. He had talked at length with Doral and both of them decided that they did not want to raise their young on a fueling station. Bob had become a prominent silversmith in the small village he had settled in on Curizan. That was where he met Tamia who had also sought refuge after escaping captivity from a slave trader who made the mistake of challenging a Curizan warrior. The warrior had freed Tamia and brought her back to his world to live. She had been working as a seamstress in the village. Both men decided they wanted to start fresh and had already established their homes there.
"Oh my," Riley said with a huge grin as she took in all the different stalls selling their wares. "Do you think Vox has credit here?" she asked hopefully.
One of the guards chuckled. "You may purchase whatever you want, my lady. Lord Aryeh instructed us to make sure you had whatever you desired. He said he would deal with Lord Vox if he should have a problem."
"I knew I was going to love that adorable old hairball once he realized I was the best thing that ever happened to his son!" Riley declared with a royal wave of her hand.
Doral and Tamia dissolved into giggles while the two guards chuckled. Riley tossed her wayward curls over her shoulder and raised her arm. "Charge ladies! And I truly mean charge! We are going to do some major shopping. I swear I was going through withdrawal!" Riley said as she sashayed her ass right through the middle of the crowded market in excitement.
She spent the next half hour exclaiming over one find after another in the food market. It was when they continued onto the merchant’s market that she thought she had truly died and gone to heaven. The silk scarves, unusual handbags, and other accessories outdid the little overpriced boutique Tina worked in during high school. Riley moved rapidly from one stall to another, picking up scarves, hats, bracelets, and handbags with a critical eye.
"How much is this?" she asked one merchant before turning to another and pulling another item up and showing it to other merchant. "And this? Tamia is that too much for this? Doral, what do you think? Does this make me look too pale? Oh my god, look at this! I have to have it! Do you think Vox will be upset? The guy says it is seventy-five credits. Is that a lot?" Riley asked, having no idea the worth of a credit. For all she knew, it could be the equivalent of a thousand bucks back home. "Damn! I should have had Viper tell Tina to clean out my account back on Earth. She has access. I might have been able to convert it or buy stuff at home to cash in here. I really, really want this bag. It will go perfectly with several of my outfits," she added, biting her lip in indecision.
"Lady Riley, seventy-five credits is very inexpensive," one of the guards assured her. "Lord Vox would not be upset at all if you purchased the bag, especially as you like it so much."
"You really think so?" Riley asked anxiously fingering the beautiful beaded bag with the tips of her fingers. "It is the most beautiful handbag I’ve ever seen."
"Please package the bag for my lady queen," the guard called out to the merchant.
Riley grinned at the merchant as he handed her the carefully wrapped purchase with a low bow. "It is a pleasure doing business with you, my queen. I will inform my daughter you admired her work."
"Tell her I have never seen anything as beautiful as this, and I will take very good care of it," Riley responded to the beaming man.
"Riley, there are only a few more stalls to go. Do you want to see them before we return?" Doral called out from across the way where she had found a scarf she liked.
"We might as well as I don’t know when I’ll get a chance to return," Riley answered with a contented sigh. "This has been the best day of my life—well besides the day I met Vox, even if I did knock him on his ass."
Tamia laughed and moved to the next stall. Riley felt a sense of unease as they approached the last stall. It was a little further away from the others, and there were only a few shoppers down this way. That wasn’t what had the hair on the back of her neck standing up though. There was something else, as if she was being stared at. She let her eyes wander around the area, pulling on her skills as a bail bondsman to help her. In the shadows near an alley a cloaked figure was standing in the shadows. Riley stopped, focusing on the figure with a frown. There was something vaguely familiar about it. The frown on her face turned into a surprised gasp as the figure emerged from the shadows and lowered the hood covering its head.
* * *
Antrox 157 stared with hatred at the female who had destroyed everything he had worked for. He motioned with his hand. Four figures converged on Riley’s small group. The two guards went down with blasts to their backs as they moved closer to Riley when she gasped and froze. The other two females screamed in terror. Within moments, Riley’s unconscious body was being carried past him. He stared in distaste at the limp pale figure as the mercenaries he had hired walked by him. He would receive a king’s fortune in credits for the female. He had sworn he wo
uld make her pay for ruining his reputation within the Antrox mining operations. He would have been lucky to hire on as a pactor supply clerk after what she had done. Now, he would have enough to buy his own mine. It would be small, but it was a start. He quickly followed the mercenaries out of the marketplace, ignoring the calls for help from the women as they bent over the still forms of the guards.
"We need to get out before they shut down all leaving flights," the huge merc carrying Riley snarled. "You didn’t tell us she was royalty."
"She is nothing but an escaped acquisition. You were given the credits to capture her. I will give you the other half due you once she is delivered," Antrox 157 replied coldly. "Otherwise, you get nothing."
"Damn bug," another one of the mercs muttered under his breath. "Move it, Garl. I don’t want to stick around for any of these damn cat-shifters. They like to rip you open and watch as you try to shove your guts back in."
"Prepare the ship for liftoff," a third merc yelled out. "We leave hot and fast."
"Grun, go ahead and make sure the way is clear," Tril snapped at the husky red-skinned creature who sped away on four legs. "You better hope she is worth the credits you promised," he said as he shifted Riley over his shoulder.
"She accepted five mates; three were Sarafin warriors. I have no doubt she will handle whatever the pleasure house sends to her," Antrox 157 replied, hurrying down the narrow alley.
Nothing else was said as the five figures moved rapidly down the narrow alley and up several flights of stairs until they reached the top of one of the taller buildings in the city. Grun was removing the cover camouflaging the small transport. It was a tight fit, but all five plus an unconscious Riley piled into the small ship. Garl shoved at the controls, and the specially modified ship rose rapidly before turning and shooting up through the atmosphere. The group was used to retrieving difficult and dangerous merchandise. This mission was especially challenging because none of them wanted to be on the wrong end of the Sarafin warriors who were bound to try to retrieve what they had stolen. They were there to retrieve and deliver, that was all. After the delivery, they would disappear for a few months before regrouping in a different star system.
* * *
Riley came to slowly. Her head ached and her stomach churned. She could feel that she was about to lose what she had eaten for lunch.
Being pregnant sucks, she thought darkly, keeping her eyes closed and breathing steadily through her nose in the hopes of not tossing her cookies. I think this should be a totally male thing since they are the ones who want to brag about how potent they are. What the hell do they suffer from? Puffing their chest out too far? They pop the load and sit back while I get to be sick, gain even more weight, and have bigger boobs to carry around while they strut like a damn peacock!
Riley continued listing all the disadvantages being pregnant entailed, hoping it would help calm her wayward stomach. After several minutes, it appeared to work as she felt confident she could open her eyes without them being crossed.
She turned her head cautiously, studying where she had been taken. Her heart jerked at the idea of her friends or the guards with her being harmed because of her. Her eyes blurred with anger at the thought of the senseless act.
"I’m going to smash that oversized bug when I get my hands on him. I’m going to feed him to the first Venus flytrap I can find. Or better yet, I’m going to find a really huge spider and watch as he squirms in its web before it sucks all his guts out," she muttered out loud.
A dark chuckle drew her attention to the door of her cell. She stared in fury at the grotesque creature standing on the other side of it. "What are you laughing at, you overgrown fleabag?"
"Antrox 157 said you had spirit. I am glad he did not lie. You will bring more credits on the auction block. Many of the more selective guests like a female with a little spirit. They want to see how long it takes to break her," the snarly voice replied.
Riley slowly sat up, putting a hand to her head to still the spinning. She glared at the creature. It was shorter than she, probably about five feet eight inches, if that. It was covered in gun-metal gray scales and had two red, beady eyes, no nose, and thin lips covering small, sharp teeth.
"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing working with a scumbag like that dickless bug?" Riley asked. "Don’t you have anything better to do than kidnap innocent, defenseless females?"
Pud laughed. It was a shame he needed to deliver the pale female so quickly. The owner of the pleasure house wanted to test her out before he put her to work. It appeared the owner was bored and had become intrigued by the story behind this particular female. He rubbed the front of his pants, wondering if he could chance having a sample before he delivered her.
"You make me hard, female," Pud told her with a nasty grin. "I like that. It has been a while since a female has done that."
Riley rose up enjoying the way the filthy creature took a step back when he realized she was taller than he was. "Don’t even think of it, you little squirt. I’ll rip your dick off and feed it to you before you even realized that little worm in your pants was gone," she snapped out.
Pud’s beady eyes glowed in anger. "Shut your mouth, female. I can understand why Antrox 157 wanted to see you suffer. You have a big mouth on you."
Riley grinned nastily at the creature. "All the more to bite your head off, you miserable little rodent. You just wait until Vox gets here. He’ll make you wish you had never been born."
"Vox?" Pud asked, taking another step back and turning pale. "Vox d’Rojah, the Sarafin king?" he asked hoarsely.
"That’s right, you steaming pile of cow paddy. I am Mrs. Vox d’Rojah! You’ve messed with the wrong bitch this time!" Riley snapped back in triumph, exaggerating a little about her new status.
It was only a matter of time before it became official. She was wearing Vox’s ring, so as far as she was concerned it was practically a done deal. They were just waiting for Tina and Pearl to show up before having the official ceremony.
The beady-eyed creature muttered a long string of curses as he turned and hurried down the corridor. She bet he was wishing he hadn’t taken on this assignment now. She was going to make sure he and that bug-eyed walking stick paid for hurting her guards and taking her.
"That’s right, you shitless piece of crab poop! You’d better run, but you’ll never be able to hide!" Riley yelled out behind him before giving a cackling laugh that would have made the Wicked Witch of the West shit her pants.
She was just thankful the slimy little bastard couldn’t see how badly her hands were shaking. "Vox, you better get your ass here soon. I am totally scared out of my mind, you adorable puddy cat."
Chapter 24
"Give me a status report now!" Vox growled out as he strode onto the bridge of the Shifter.
"We have five targets we are pursuing. From the reports we have received so far from our tracking station, a transport left the ancient city traveling at a high rate of speed. It docked with a trader ship on the outer rim of the star system. Four transports separated from the trader and headed in different directions. Battle cruisers have been dispersed after those. We are following the trader’s ship," Tor reported as he came to stand next to Vox.
"Conference room," Vox growled out, feeling his stomach tighten.
Lodar and Tor followed Vox into the conference room located next to the bridge. As soon as the door closed, Vox turned and glared at his friends. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t get anything past the lump that had suddenly formed in it. He cleared his throat and tried again.
"What do you have on the attack in the market and about the ship’s identification?" he asked hoarsely.
"Tamia reported they saw an Antrox before the attack. She said Riley appeared to recognize him before the guards were shot," Tor responded.
"One of the men is in critical condition. The other is stable," Lodar added. "Neither one of the other females was injured. It appeared Riley was the target."
&
nbsp; "The trader ship is registered out of the Guambian star system. I have a feeling we will find out the documents have been forged. There were no identifying signals from the other four ships that departed from it, more than likely the mercenaries who were hired to capture Riley. They typically use this type of method to escape. It is easier for them to escape and makes it difficult to catch more than one."
"The question is—what do they want with her?" Lodar asked, rubbing his hand down his face.
Vox’s face was frozen in rage as he remembered Antrox 157’s threat to sell Riley to the pleasure houses dotted throughout the star systems. He should have made sure that slimy insect had been dead before he escaped the mining asteroid. He had hoped that the cold-blooded insect had blown up. He would not make that mistake again. The Antrox had signed his own death sentence by taking Riley.
"He plans to sell her to a pleasure house," Vox said thickly.
"Gods!" Both Lodar and Tor exclaimed in horror at the same time.
Vox turned to look at them. "Get me to that damn ship. She had better be on it. I’m going to rip out the guts of any male who has touched her."
Tor looked at his friend and leader with fire burning in his own eyes. "I’ll be there to help you, my friend," he said before turning on his heel and striding back onto the bridge, barking orders to the helmsman to give him everything the Shifter had.
Lodar walked over to where Vox was staring out into the darkness of space. He stood next to him for a few moments in silence, not sure what he could say to help his friend. His own mind was picturing Riley’s infectious smile, the delighted twinkle in her eye when she was causing mischief, and her lush figure that affected every male she met.
"I want you near when we find her," Vox said quietly in a husky voice. "If"—his throat worked up and down—"If we do not get to her soon enough and…and she has been harmed, I need you there to help heal her," he finished thickly.
Captured Boxed Set: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys Who Will Capture Your Heart Page 106