by Pixie Moon
Knowing he’ll be on his way home soon makes me happy. I can’t get enough of him. He’s an addiction I’ll never willingly give up. The chemistry between us hasn’t died down a bit since the day we met. I have a feeling it never will. That thought has joy swirling around my heart and zipping through my veins.
While taking my last bite of muffin, I hear a strange noise. I squash my natural need to run and hide. I’m on a safe planet living with a badass male. I’m safe here. Din Zar and his warrior friends have made sure of that. All is well. Being safe feels good.
I hear a tapping and think of the Zaphin bird similar to Earth’s woodpecker. Thanks to Zar I now know the pretty purple and yellow bird is called an ardop. The tapping sound comes again. It’s not coming from the backdoor. I go search for the source expecting to see an ardop trying to get in. I chuckle at the thought of such a small animal thinking it can break through a sturdy zaphinian wall.
Thinking I’m going to be entertained by a brightly colored bird, I happily follow the tapping sound. It seems rather loud. Maybe it’s a large bird. Covertly, I peek around the living room being careful not to move too quickly. I don’t want to startle the little thing.
Stealthily, I inch into the room until I can see our foyer. I believe the sound could be coming from there. I picture the small bird—or a larger one—trying to get in our front door. I smile now that I’m mentally prepared to see something cute.
I peek toward the door. My smile drops. My blood freezes when I see strange males hanging out around our front door. Through the window I see them talk for a bit. They are not zaphinian. Fear snakes up my spine. They can’t be friends of Zar. That means they are strangers, possibly even enemies. Shit, what should I do? What do they want?
As they move I lose sight of two of them. The one I can see rears back a huge bare foot and kicks our door. The sound echoes through the room. When my gaze locks with a pair of mean black eyes ringed with orange eyelashes, I jump and barely withhold a scream. An evil grin curls the male’s lips.
When the male turns to his friends, I snap out of my shock and run from the living room. In the kitchen, I gulp in a few breaths and try to calm the zyf down. I pause when I realize I’m starting to talk like Zar. He’s wearing off on me and that’s okay.
“This place is secure,” I say out loud. Hearing the words calms me. They can’t get me.
That calm is shattered when I hear the boom of our front door being slammed into. All three of them must be kicking the door at the same time now. Can it hold up? Knowing I have to see how bad it is, I tiptoe into the living room until I can see the front door.
Another booming sound echoes through the room as they try to break-in. The cracking sound that follows closely on the heels of the boom has me jumping and running.
With my heart pounding viciously against my ribs, I stand by the back door. I’m tempted to run outside but fear that there could be more of them lurking around the yard. All I can do is wait and hope the door holds.
I start breathing long, deep calming breathes, the kind I do at night with Zar. My heart slows a bit. With one hand at my throat and the other at my belly, I breathe and hope for the best.
The sound of the door shattering is followed by victorious shouts. I silently scream. My heart starts beating out a deafening rhythm. Fear slithers up my spine and spreads throughout my body.
Footfalls jar me from my state of horrified shock. I quickly slide out the backdoor and close it behind me. I scream when one of the males slams into the locked door and tries to open it.
The coldness in his black eyes has me spinning around and running toward the jungle. Horror floods my system when I hear heavy footfalls racing after me.
I peek over my shoulder. Zyf! In a flurry of movement, I dodge the hand that reaches out to grab me. Laughter comes from one of the other males that’s running nearby. A snarl comes from the one closest to me. I dodge his next attempt to catch me. The male snarls louder causing fear to snake around my lungs in a death grip.
The edge of the jungle is just a few steps away. If I can make it into the lush area I’ll have a better chance of escaping. A grunt from the male closing in on me lets me know he’s about to try to get me again.
I dart to the side and drop down. Satisfaction courses through me when he passes me up. I bound into the jungle with their shouts ringing through my ears.
If I can just find a place to hide I know I’ll live to see Zar again. The sound of footfalls closing in on me has my heart sinking all the way down to my toes. I don’t give up though. I speed around a tree and duck under a low hanging vine.
I hear one male run into the vine and smile. My smile dies when I run around another tree and right into a male body. I instinctively step on his big bare foot and then try to dodge around him.
A snarl comes from the male. “Not this time, little human.”
I scream when a hand fists in my hair and pulls me back and up against a firm chest. The males aren’t real muscular looking but this one is strong and I have to assume the others are as well.
Needing to get away from them, I hit the one holding my hair and struggle to get away. He laughs and holds me out at arm’s length. My heart races and fear closes in on me stronger than ever as all three of the aliens stare at me. My uniform reveals all of me to them. The lust in their pitch black eyes has my stomach crawling up my throat.
“Don’t touch me. Din Zar TocGar will kill you.” I try to sound as confident as I can. Being here has taught me to aggressively go after a predator.
The mention of Zar’s name makes the one holding me snarl. “I’d like for him to try.” His angry gaze rakes over my body. “Your male killed our friend. A friend we treasured. Now, we are going to take what that scum, TocGar, treasures.”
In a swift move, the male yanks me in close and tosses me over his shoulder. The air whooshes from my lungs when my stomach makes contact with his shoulder. I kick when a hand grazes my ass. Laughter comes from all three of the aliens. A hard slap to my right cheek has fire heating my rear. I gasp in a breath and try to squirm free.
I can’t let these assholes take me. I belong to Zar.
Another blow lands on my ass, this one is hard enough to cause tears to spring into my eyes. Fiery heat singes my butt. I still as fear slithers around in my belly. These males are mean and determined.
“Be still, little human. Unless you want us to throw you down and fuck you right here on the jungle floor,” my captor says in a gruff tone.
I pull in a gasping breath and for the first time notice how bad the male holding me smells. I gag and hit him on the back. The need to get away from them claws at my chest. I don’t want them to touch me. I belong to Zar. I hit my smelly captor again and struggle.
As they start walking deeper into the jungle, one of the other males approaches. I see his big dirty bare feet right before his hand grips my hair and pulls my head up. I smell the same stink coming from him and gag. Do these guys know what a bath is? Would soap and water help?
He laughs and then his eyes narrow. The short thick orange eyelashes around his black eyes freaks me out. “Stop fighting us and we’ll go easy on you.”
“Quit making promises you can’t keep, Mocso. She’s tainted by TocGar. We can do whatever we want to her.” A hand slides up my thigh and roughly squeezes my left cheek.
I shudder and my captor laughs in an evil tone that has my stomach trying to leap its way out of my body. To them, I truly mean nothing. A fresh wave of fear spears my heart.
Mocso releases my hair and runs his hand down my back. I cringe when he slaps my ass. I have to get away from these males before they hurt me. Covertly, I start scanning the jungle looking for any type of escape my lush surroundings may offer.
The male off to my left inches closer and touches my hair. “Soft. I can’t wait to fuck her. She must be good since TocGar had her hidden out in his house. Let’s do it now. Toss her to the ground, Glip.”
“No, Stil. I don’t trust Toc
Gar. We are too close to his home. Fucking her can wait until we are safely back on our spacecraft and heading home,” my captor states in a commanderly tone.
Stil grunts and then sniffs my hair. “I want her now.”
“No, you fool. If we wait, we can all have her as much as we want without having to worry about TocGar and his friends. Now shut up and keep moving. By now our craft has landed and is waiting for us.” Glip’s grip on me tightens showing me how angry he’s becoming.
I have to get away from them. Pushing down the panic trying to rule me, I stay alert. The deeper we go into the jungle the harder it is to suppress the fear and panic that’s steadily trying to grow within me. I can’t let the powerful emotions paralyze me or I’ll never escape.
Stil steps closer. A second later, the male touches my hair and lifts a few strands to his nose. He inhales and then snarls. I gag at the extra dose of bad smelling alien. I’m sure I’ll throw up if all three of them gather close around me for any length of time at all. How can I fight while throwing up? Zyf, I will if I have to.
“I want her now, Glip. We’ve gone far enough from TocGar’s home. As good as she smells, I won’t take long.” Stil pushes Glip and then tries to roll me off of Glip’s shoulder.
Glip snarls and barks, “Get back, Stil. You can fuck her when we are safely on board our spacecraft.”
“I can’t keep walking with this erection. Her scent is driving me crazy as well as the sight of her curvy body. I have to have her now. Rep was my best friend. I need to relieve my mourning for him. She can do that for me,” Stil replies in a low scary tone.
I scream when Stil shoves Glip to the ground, sending me a few feet from Glip. I gasp for breath as pain flares through my hip and shoulder. Big bare feet charging my way have me scooting backward.
Right before Stil can grab me, Glip tackles him and starts punching him. Mocso yells and jumps onto Glip. “Break it up. You two can fight later. We have to keep moving.”
As Mocso tries to separate the fighting males, I inch backward. Once I’m behind a tree, I stand and start running for all I’m worth. My father taught me to never run in a straight line so I zig-zag through the lush foliage. Every chance I get, I dart around a tree.
Footfalls pounding behind me has fear pinging through my heart. I run faster. I can’t be taken. I have Zar to live for. I have a future here on Zaphin. A new beginning.
With my heart beating wildly, I run as though my life depends on it. It does. Life is too precious for me to give in easily. I charge forward at a faster pace. My breath is now sawing in and out of my lungs. I’m athletic, I can do this, I tell myself and hope it’s true.
A strong hand grabbing my hair has me jerking back and shrieking in surprise. Pain floods my scalp as my hair is used to whip me around. I look up into Mocso’s black eyes. His orange eyelashes make his pitch black eyes look even meaner.
Panic swells in my chest and clogs my throat. I can’t go with him. I can’t let him take me from Zar. As he starts pulling me along by the ends of my hair, I scan his body for a weapon. My heart leaps with excitement when I see a knife strapped to his thigh.
Fear coils tightly in my stomach. I don’t let it rule me. In a quick move, I flick the strap holding the knife in place and pull it out of its sheath. Before he can react, I stab him in the thigh.
A vicious snarl comes from him right before he swings his fist at me. Seeing the blow coming, I dodge so that only the side of his fist grazes my cheek. I stab him again and twist the knife. He lets out a snarl of pain and reaches for his wounded thigh.
I try to jump back but find that the bastard still has a tight grip on my hair. My stomach turns at the sight of his orange blood on the knife. I can’t let my squeamish side hinder me. Feeling desperate, I put the knife to my hair and hack it off. For good measure, I stab his thigh again and twist the knife hard. He roars and kicks me back a few feet.
While he is pulling the knife from his thigh, I turn and run as though the devil is after me. I start zigging and zagging through my lush surroundings. It won’t be long before all three of them are after me.
That morbid thought has me picking up my pace. I don’t slow down even when leaves slap me in the face. The lingering sting keeps me focused on getting to safety. I can do this no matter the cost.
A silent scream lodges in my throat when I hear the pounding of feet. With my heart racing, I can’t tell exactly where the sound is coming from. I peek over my shoulder and get some relief when I don’t see any of them. My luck could change at any moment though. I step on something creepy and hope I didn’t just kill a little creature. Fear has me pushing on.
I run and run until my lungs are screaming and I’m gasping for breath. Pain knits my side but still I run on. Only when my thighs start going weak do I stop to catch my breath. Wildly, I look around as the fear of being recaptured wraps around my chest and squeezes my heart.
Footfalls pound through the jungle. I take a step back and jump when vines wrap around me and start pulling me in closer to the trunk of a tree. I want to cry from relief as I realize I’m being pulled in by a hugmar tree. A feeling of security replaces the panic in my chest. Vines start covering up every inch of my body.
The big, velvety leaves have my body hidden within seconds. The last thing I see is a blur of movement in the distance before my face is covered by hugmar leaves. I shiver as I remember the flash of someone moving. I hope they don’t find me.
Hide to stay alive, runs through my mind. Fear tries to suffocate me. I force myself to start breathing the way Din Zar taught me. A warm pulse from the hugmar tree helps me calm down even more. I’m so grateful to this amazing plant for helping me.
Footfalls stomping by have me tensing up. I listen and wait to see if the aliens hunting me are going to find me. I long to be in Zar’s arms. The vines tighten around me giving me a sense of peace.
In a tone so low I can’t hear it, I breathe out the words, “Thank you.”
The lifesaving plant vibrates slightly in response.
As the minutes pass by, I remain quiet and still. Even though the aliens looking for me seem to be gone, they could easily backtrack and find me if I try to leave my hiding spot and head home.
A sense of total calm descends upon me as I realize I’m not alone anymore. Din Zar TocGar will come looking for me.
CHAPTER
35
~ Zar ~
♥
I frown when my wrist-com sounds an alarm. I push a button and my stomach leaps into my throat when I see that my home has been broken into. Hallie needs me.
Von steps closer to me. “What’s wrong, Zar?”
“My home has just been invaded with Hallie inside. I have to go.” My heart is pounding out an angry beat. If anyone harms my little Hallie Mead, I’m going to kill them.
My brother jumps into action. “I’ll go with you.” Von looks around as we head to my vehicle. I hear him calling to Tairin but right now all I can do is focus on getting home and killing anyone that has messed with my precious seema.
As a buzz hums through my brain, I realize that Tairin is getting into the vehicle with us. I vaguely remember that Zairin is away on another mission. At least one of the twins is able to back me up. Before I take off, Ryk jumps into the vehicle. I smile grimly as I take off. With this crew backing me up, my enemies don’t stand a chance.
I power drive through the jungle as never before. My mind and body go into mission mode. I have to save Hallie. She means the world to me.
“What are we up against?” Von asks from the seat next to me.
“I don’t know. Someone broke down my front door. A short time later my backdoor opened and then shut. I hope Hallie got away from the invaders.” My hands tighten on the wheel as worry for her circulates through my whole body. The emotion feels like acid eating me up.