Hide to Stay Alive (Club Release 1)

by Pixie Moon

  You’re a captive, Hallie Mead. Get used to following orders and possibly being part of a harem, my logical side says. I can’t believe I didn’t understand this sooner. He’d ordered me around like a pro on the platform from hell. I tremble as I wonder how many more females he has at his house. I frown at the thought of being one of many.

  Me being placed on the large device in the corner jerks me back to the present. I try to sit up but am quickly eased back down. Fuck! I hadn’t even realized my harem-building captor had guided me over here. What the hell is this machine going to do to me? My nerves stretch to the point that I fear they are going to snap.

  “Calm yourself, little human. This machine is just going to scan you. It’s not going to damage you in any way.” His tone is soothing and I start to fall for it.

  As a humming noise breaks the silence, my trust in Pretty Eyes falters. It wasn’t an earned trust after all. I look down at my wrist to see if the cuff is gone. Nope, my lips twist in disgust. This guy is not giving me any chance to escape.

  A blue light passes under me, I feel a slight tingle from it but nothing painful as happened yet. I hold my breath waiting to see what will happen next. A clicking sound echoes through the room and then the doctor nods as he looks at a screen.

  The doctor turns and looks at my captor. “She’s clear. A little undernourished but overall very healthy. I’ll administer the shot and chip. Then you can take her home, Din Zar.”

  My captor helps me up and off of the machine. The word “shot” pounds through my mind. I’ve never had a shot and I don’t plan on ever getting one. My gaze darts around as I look for an escape. I get two steps away from Din Zar before he gently tugs the cuffs. Damn it. How could I have forgotten about being bound to him?

  I’m not handling my situation well at all. Panic claws at my chest. I don’t want to be shot or probed or anything else.

  Zar leans down and looks deeply into my eyes. He grips my chin between gentle fingers. “He’s not going to hurt you. The shot only produces a small sting and the chip doesn’t feel much different.” His eyes harden. “You will get the shot. It is important to your health. The medicine in it will cure you of anything you were exposed to when you were capture and it will stop you from getting anything an alien could bring onto our planet. Everyone here has gotten the shot and most of us have the communicator chip. At the club you’re going to need the chip so prepare yourself, little one.”

  The doctor comes closer as Din Zar releases my chin and stands to his full height. I squeak when the doctor moves at a speed I can’t follow. All I feel is a tug on my bodysuit and then a small zap to my upper arm. The material slips back into place as the smiling doctor steps away to put down the blasted device he’s just used on me.

  “One more thing,” the doctor says as he picks up another device. He uses the same amazing speed as he approaches me.

  I blink when I feel a pinch to my neck. A strange feeling overcomes me and then my neck throbs for a few seconds. I try to touch the spot but my captor stops me.

  “Do you understand the words I’m saying?” Din Zar asks me. Concern flavors his words.

  “Yes,” I answer as I wonder what he was concerned about.

  “Good, that means the communicator chip is working. Now you’ll be able to understand many languages,” Zar says in a pleased tone.

  Oh! I smile as I realize he was speaking to me in another language. This chip instantly made me smarter.

  The doctor looks at my captor and grins. “She’s ready to go.” A mischievous sparkle enters the male’s eyes. “Tell Din Von to ease up on the guys during practice. I’m leaving the planet for a few days to get updated on the latest medical innovations. After I’m back you guys can feel free to pound the shit out of each other.”

  “Thanks, Dr. ResTa. I’ll let Von know.” Din Zar puts his arm around me and heads for the door.

  CHAPTER

  11

  ~ Hallie ~

  ♥

  A shiver races through me as I wonder what will happen next. He strokes my shoulder soothingly with his free hand. At first I’m comforted by the gesture and then a spike of jealousy shoots through me as I wonder how many times he’s brought females here and done the same thing to them.

  What is wrong with me? I don’t even know this guy. His past shouldn’t bother me at all. This confirms my earlier suspicion, I’m not handling being a captive well at all. I’m definitely having a mental melt down.

  I try not to appreciate his embrace, but I can’t help but sink deeper into it when we pass a few large males standing outside a doorway arguing like there’s no tomorrow. Din Zar growls lightly and the males all stop talking and watch us walk by.

  He pulls me in tighter to his side and I welcome the feel of his strong embrace. I instantly feel guilty for liking the feel of him holding me close. Don’t feel bad, girl. If you weren’t love starved, you would fight him, my logical side whispers, not unkindly. Am I love starved? I don’t like that thought. I’m an independent female. I can take care of myself.

  Din Zar pushing a door open jerks me back to the present. I’m just getting ready to start a major diatribe about how dumb I’ve been lately when we step outside and into the lushest world I’ve ever seen.

  My jaw drops and I stop moving. My gaze darts around taking in as much as I can. I can’t process the information fast enough. Pretty Eyes chuckles and nudges me forward. I can start calling him Pretty Eyes again since the doctor didn’t end up being a mad-scientist. I keep looking around me. Amazement has me too stunned to say a thing.

  Paths lead to several building made of metal and glass. I glance over my shoulder and notice that the one we just left looks a lot like the rest on them, tall and sturdy.

  My gaze drops to get a better look at what I’m standing on. Colorful varying shades of tan, rust, and black stones make up a huge landing and set of steps. Compared to the building, they show the most flare.

  I stare at the pretty designs made from the careful placement of colored stones. Oh, yes, the landing and steps are pure art. I can’t help but wonder how long it took to make the landing look like a constellation of stars and planets.

  A strong gust of wind makes me blink. He tugs gently on the cuffs binding us. “You can see more of the planet later, seema. For now, I want to get you home and feed you properly.”

  The mention of food has my stomach rumbling loudly. He guides me down the artfully designed steps and down a path. I hear grunting and grumbling right before we follow the path around the side of the building.

  The sight of at least fifty men and women fighting stops me in my tracks. A seven foot tall female slams an equally tall male to the ground and then smirks at him. Another female charges the smirking female only to be easily tossed to the ground next to the male.

  That female has a good reason for smirking, she’s a badass. A pang of longing shoots through me. I wish I was like her. I frown as I look down at myself. Another gust of wind smacks into me causing me to stumble. I glance up to see the badass female smiling at me. Fiery heat sears my cheeks. She must think I’m too weak to be of any use.

  Din Zar sniffs the air and then strokes my shoulder. I look up at him. He’s not looking at me but at the fighters. I stiffen when I catch movement from the corner of my eye. I look over to see the badass female coming our way.

  She looks me over and then gives Din Zar an approving look. “She going to the club, TocGar?”

  I’m stunned by the new name for Pretty Eyes. I look around in case the female is talking to someone else. Several others are heading this way but there’s no one else she could be talking to.

  Pretty Eyes hugs me closer to him and then answers. “Not at first. I’m taking her home to be my seema for a while. I’ll let her decide what she wants to do after she’s been here long enough to make up her mind.” He looks over at the fighters. “How’s training going, LarPe?”

  The male LarPe has just bested rushes her. She quickly dodges and then sweep
s her arm out knocking him to the ground again. Air whooshes from the downed male’s lungs.

  That has to hurt.

  LarPe smirks at the male and then looks at Din Zar. “Good, training this pup is fun.”

  At her words, I peek at the male and notice that he does look younger than the others. I flinch when two of the other males come up and slap Din Zar on the back. The way they crowd in near me causes panic to rise in my chest and catch in my throat. They’re too big and there are too many of them around me. That they are so different from me is scary too. I desperately want to run. The hindering cuff on my wrist intensifies the fright swelling within me.

  The male closest to me sniffs the air and then leaps back a few feet. He bends and looks right into my eyes. “Sorry about that, little one. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  I look into his silver eyes and see that he’s telling me the truth. As he straightens to his full height, sunlight brings out the red in his dark strands. The color of his hair surprises me. It’s black until the light hits the strands in just the right way. It doesn’t look bad on him at all.

  The white scar on the right side of the warrior’s chin makes me wonder what happened to him. Much the way I wonder how Din Zar got the scar under his lip. These beings must live rough lives. Their lightly striped skin looks thick enough to protect them better than my skin.

  As the others start talking to my captor, I covertly look around and see that the male on the other side of Din Zar has a touch of blue in his almost black hair. Most of them seem to have black hair but a few have touches of another color in their dark hair when the light hits them just right. I can’t help but wonder if the colors other than black are natural.

  As we stand there, I watch the group that’s still fighting. They are a tough lot, so far not one of them has complained about the abuse or asked to stop for a break. It’s easy to see which ones have been doing this for a long time. The grace with which they move is beautiful.

  I glance around at the group around us, they seem to be nice enough and they seem to know Din Zar really well. He must be one of them. That would explain the confidence he’d shown on the other planet. The other two males on the spacecraft must be a part of this group too. I wonder what it would be like to belong to a group that exudes such confidence and power.

  My stomach rumbles loud enough that all of them stop talking and look at me. I feel my cheeks heat up. I don’t like the attention. To my relief, Din Zar strokes my shoulder and then says, “Looks like I need to get her home and feed her. I’ll bring her to the club as soon as she’s ready.” Din Zar looks at the male with the intriguing black and red hair and says, “Din Lor, let me know if I’m needed at the club.” His pretty eyes take the group in. “I’ll see you all as soon as possible.”

  With goodbyes being called out, my male leads me further down the path and then takes another turn that leads to a parking lot. My eyes widen as I take in all of the sleek aerodynamically shaped vehicles.

  Din Zar pulls some strange looking keys out of his pocket and then presses a button. Light flashes on one of the vehicles as he leads me to it. He chuckles and shakes his head. “I can never tell my vehicle from Dax and Lor’s. The assholes love to park right next to me.” He removes the cuff on my wrist with a touch and then opens the door and watches as I climb in. My wrist feels almost naked without the cuff.

  I look around the high-tech vehicle as Din Zar opens his door and gets in. On Earth vehicles are only used by the rich people. From what I’ve seen though none of Earth’s vehicles are anywhere near a nice as this one.

  “Strap in, seema. My baby goes fast.” He tugs at my belt and then shows me how to use it by strapping himself in.

  In his normally confident manner, he starts the engine. I’m surprised when the vehicle rises a bit. I hold onto my seatbelt as he pulls the sleek vehicle out of the lot and onto a path. I feel dizzy as we take off at a speed that makes the lush jungle plants blur into a mass of green, tan, and dark blue streaks.

  The pressure pushes me deep into the seat. I close my eyes and breathe in a calming way. My mind envisions us crashing and bursting into a billion tiny pieces. His hand on mine has my eyes jerking open and looking over at him.

  He never takes his gaze off the path. “We’ll be home soon, little seema.”

  The word home swells in my chest. I haven’t had a home in a long time.

  CHAPTER

  12

  ~ Hallie ~

  ♥

  My white-knuckled grip loosens when the vehicle slows and pulls up to a glass and metal building. Since he said he was taking me to his house, I assume this is where he lives. The structure is tall and looks a lot like the building we were in a few minutes ago.

  The three steps leading to the door catch my attention. The stone landing at the top of the steps has an interesting symbol designed into it. It has an angled knife that’s blocked in with a row of three stars on each side. At the bottom of the design is a sharp wave. A lot of work went into making the landing and steps. I can appreciate the effort.

  My gaze moves on. It’s important to know your surroundings. The green, tan, and blue jungle plants are no more than fifty feet from overtaking the side of the glass home.

  Instead of being unkempt looking, it feels rustic and homey. That’s because you’ve spent most of your life in the woods, my logical side points out. Once again, she’s right. If we’d pulled up to a big ass apartment complex, I would’ve gone into spasms.

  Din Zar gets out of the vehicle and comes around to my side, he opens the door, and then quickly unbuckles me. I feel heat rising to my cheeks. “Sorry, I could have done that. I was admiring your place. It looks real nice.” After the way you were raised, this place is a badass mansion, my logical side says. This time I don’t appreciate her input.

  “That’s all right. You’ve been through a lot today. I’m glad you like my home. Especially since you’ll be staying here.” He steps back and I climb out.

  I long to look at the plants around the home. They are so pretty and different from the ones I’m accustom to. My stomach growls loudly demanding to be fed.

  Din Zar takes hold of my hand as though he doesn’t trust me not to run. For the first time I notice the scar on his right hand. As thick as his skin is I’d guess only an extremely sharp weapon could scar it. I am a little surprised that their scars seem to be white. My attention is drawn back to his home when he then guides me up the steps and into his dwelling.

  Inside I look around at the clean lines of glass and metal. The only thing that looks bad is the sight of his dirty clothes littering the floor. I can see why he needs me.

  My gaze moves on. Little touches of color here and there stop the place from being cold. The tan furniture is huge and sturdy looking. I glance up and down his body. If I were seven feet tall, I’d want solid furniture too.

  My wayward stomach complains again. He frowns and leads me through the living room and into what I believe is the kitchen. All of the strange devices are confusing.

  Din Zar pulls out a stool from under the kitchen bar and orders, “Sit, seema.”

  At his commanding tone, I immediately do as he tells me. For a second I’m not happy with myself for jumping to do as he orders. Then I look up into his eyes and see approval. The frustration in me immediately melts away. Deep down I think that’s a strange thing. How can his approval make me happy?

  Before I can figure it out he’s placing a square plate in front of me. “Eat. I’ll get you something else in just a bit, seema.”

  I look at the sliced red food in front of me and then sniff it. It doesn’t smell bad. As I’m taking my first bite he places something that looks like a muffin on my plate. I don’t have time to wonder about it because an explosion of flavor bursts across my tongue.

  Sweet and spicy. That’s what the combination is. I chew it and grab another slice. This one I shove into my mouth and devour it. I’m on my fourth slice when I look up and see him watching me intently.
/>