He walked into the game room where the rest of his brothers and their mates were quietly talking.
“Aran.” The room silenced and every head turned to Nicolas.
“I have a thought. It makes no sense, but the more I think about it…”
“What is it?”
“What if this Created is a Scientist?”
“How could a Scientist be a Created?” Sergey asked Nicolas.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while. It was the color of the eyes of the tainted Created that caught my attention. They were yellow.”
There were several indrawn breathes from the males, followed by looks of horror. The Scientists were one of only two races they knew about with yellow eyes.
“It would explain a lot,” Niko said to the room at large.
“Nicolas, is this possible?” Aran asked.
“It’s possible. Just about the time we were leaving, the Scientists were testing a new formula that would allow the traits of the Created to be combined with those of other races in full grown subjects. I’m sure they’d have perfected it given time.”
“Why would a scientist want to become one of us?” Hale asked.
“If only I knew the answer to that one.” Nicolas replied.
“Aran?” Rena reached up to stroke the frown on his lips.
“If we’re being chased by a scientist turned Created, then more than our lives are in danger.”
Sergey nodded at Aran’s words. “Earth just became the primary target.”
Chapter Twenty Seven
“How come he hasn’t done anything to us?”
Janis looked over at Theresa. She’d gotten to know her over the last three days. As much as she wanted to judge her and find her lacking, she came to the realization that not everyone was intimately acquainted with hardship.
Theresa lived a life Janis had only dreamed of. Being harassed and threatened by a mad man was inconceivable to Theresa, even though she was presently living in that scenario.
“We aren’t the prize, just the bait. He’s waiting for Nicolas and his brothers to find us. Testing them like rats in a lab and we’re the cheese.”
Theresa grimaced and tried to offer Janis a smile. Janis ignored the smile, as once again, she checked the cell for weaknesses. She’d put a tracker under her skin so she’d never have to go through this again.
“What happens when they find us?” Theresa asked quietly.
“That’s when the fun begins.” The voice emerged from the male walking towards them.
Janis judged him to be about five eight. He shared none of the rugged good looks of the Created. His hair was short and spiky. She was sure if she touched it, it would cut her hands. His face was squarish with yellow eyes. If he was a representation of the rest of his race, she would skip meeting any more.
“I believe your mate should be coming for you soon.” He walked over and unlocked the cell, stepping back to give them room to walk out.
He smiled at both of them, holding his hands up in the air as if to show them he was unarmed.
“Run, please.” He smiled at Theresa.
Janis shot her hand out and grabbed Theresa by the arm. “Don’t run. He’s deadlier than he looks and he has no reason to keep you alive.”
The blood drained from Theresa’s face, leaving her as white as a ghost. She edged a little closer to Janis, keeping a watchful eye on the male.
“Where are you taking us?”
“I have a special place for you. Your male will find you with ease there.”
They walked out of the room into an underground cave.
“We are underground?”
The male nodded his head. “The natural materials in the earth will interfere with the signal your bracelet sends out.”
Janis put her hand on it. She’d known Nicolas would use it to track her.
“I knew it would take several days to pinpoint the signal.”
She said nothing. The path was at a slight incline. They had been deep in the earth, but were slowly making their way to the surface. Where could they be? She doubted there was a place like this in the city. Maybe they had been taken to some remote part of Pennsylvania. There had to be forgotten parts somewhere in the state.
Janis tripped over a rock and would have fallen if Theresa hadn’t reached down to help her. She could hear a frustrated sound emerge from the Created’s lips, but refused to acknowledge it.
They walked in silence until they emerged from the cave. The sky was lit with a full moon. Judging by the position of it in the sky, it must be close to midnight.
“You could forget whatever insane plan you have and let us go.”
The Created gave her a laugh that once again, made her feel like something was crawling on her.
She shrugged. It was worth a try.
“We are close to our destination now.”
“What exactly are the Created?” Theresa asked hesitantly.
Janis circled the question earlier, never giving her a straight answer. She’d hoped it would not only protect the Dares which she was a part of, but also protect Theresa.
“They are animals bred to kill and then be put down,” their captor answered.
“They are aliens who came here from a different planet. They have lived on our planet in peace for over a hundred years. The government is aware of them. There is peace between our people and their people, but some beings can’t leave well enough alone and wish to start a war.”
They walked through a large rocky section filled with trees. Janis tried to match the landscape up with areas she might recognize and came up with nothing. Finally, they walked through the trees to enter a large clearing.
“This looks strange.”
He laughed. “I made it as my stage. Besides, it will give your people something to talk about for years to come.”
“You.” He pointed to Theresa. “Over here.”
Theresa turned to look at Janis before walking over to the male. He grabbed her arms and placed them in restraints she was unable to see, but she had no trouble feeling them binding her wrists.
“It’s too bad your earth eyes can’t see the restraints you’re being held in.”
He turned to look at Janis and motioned her to move to a spot further away from where Theresa stood with her arms at a wide V over her head and her legs in a matching V. She looked like she was being displayed on an auction block.
Taking a deep breath, Janis prepared for the same thing to be done to her. Nicolas will be here soon. Then there will be hell to pay. She smiled at that thought. Then she felt her wrist being placed in a manacle and pulled up high.
She felt, more than saw, a barrier go around her. The sizzle of light as an insect hit it confirmed her suspicion. She wasn’t getting out of there unless she was released.
“Now for the second part of the attraction.” That evil laugh once again walked down Janis’s spine.
She looked up when a flash of caught her eye. There were two cages that were slowly being lowered to the ground. Her tongue came out and swiped at her suddenly parched lips as a hand of terror gripped her. She didn’t know what was in those cages, but whatever it was didn’t bode well for her or Theresa.
The beast in the cage went crazy, throwing itself against the side when it caught sight of her. Turning her head, she saw Theresa in her cage screaming as the other beast tried to claw its way to her. Janis tried desperately to move as far away as possible, doing her best not to let fear take over. The thought of that alien touching her was enough to make her want to collapse into a ball and scream her head off.
“You won’t be so calm once he gets his hands on you. Introductions are in order. These are the Crux. They are from a species that worships two things, fighting and procreating. As you can see from his protruding organ, I have kept him away from procreating, but I did promise him a female. You. The Crux aren’t a gentle race. I’m sure you will find that out soon enough. Although, there is one thing they love to do more tha
n anything. Kill the Created. I wonder if they will kill them or maim them, so they can watch as you are plundered or rather torn apart in the Crux frenzy. They will probably kill them first. No one ever accused the Crux of having big brains.”
His laughter stayed behind as he walked into the trees, leaving the Crux to throw themselves against the barrier keeping them in place.
“Janis.”
“Yeah.”
“Your man and his big brothers are coming, right? Do you think they can defeat these things?”
“I know they can.”
“Then why are you looking like that?”
“What happens if they bring Rena, Dee and Lorali?” Janis whispered to herself.
Chapter Twenty Eight
“Do you really think this is the best idea?”
“Do you have an alternative?” Aran turned to face Sergey, waiting for his reply.
“No. I just don’t want to put the females in danger.”
Aran sighed and dropped into the captain’s chair of the small craft. They could be facing danger either way. They were flying under the radar of the military, as well as other monitoring companies. But that left them open to be spotted by anyone who happened to look in their direction.
“Sergey, you know we didn’t have another choice. We either took the glider out or we went by jeep. The jeeps wouldn’t make it there tonight.”
“He knows we’re bringing the glider. Why else would he have taken them so far away?” Nicolas had been sitting quietly in the command center before making his comment.
“He took them to Montana. He knew what he was doing. You’re right, Nicolas. He knew we would need more than jeeps to reach them in time.”
“Janis’s signal is loud and clear now. It’s like he knew how much time it would take me to write a program to erase the interference.”
“He’s a Scientist. He knew exactly how much time it would take. I keep asking myself why. Why would a Scientist inject himself with Created DNA? Why would a Scientist follow us to earth? They are such snobs when it comes to their superiority in the galaxy. It’s hard to believe one would come here.” Nicolas spoke to the room in general.
“Does the why matter? I believe our focus is retrieving your mate as well as your employee,” Dante’s voice was soft. He volunteered to go with them when they figured out where the females had been taken.
Nicolas shook his head. “Janis is the priority, as well as Theresa. I just can’t help feeling we’re missing something.”
The door to the command center opened and Mick, Dante’s brother and second in command, walked in.
“Is everything good?” Aran asked.
Mick nodded his head. “I went over the harness with the females again, just to make sure they had a thorough understanding of how to use them. They have made themselves comfortable in the replicator room. I believe they’ll be ok. I’m honored to be chosen to watch over them while you fight.”
Dante gave a sincere laugh filled with joy. “I believe that’s Mick’s way of saying at least he got asked to come along this time. My brothers haven’t been happy to miss out on all of the action.”
Dante threw Mick a smile. Mick nodded his head and took a seat.
Aran flipped on the intercom. “Rena, use the harness and make sure everyone else uses it also.”
He turned back to the view screen. They were getting close. No one knew what they would be heading into.
“Nicolas, you’re lead on this one.”
“Mick, at the first sign of trouble, you get the females out of there.”
“Understood.”
“Everyone else remember the females are our first priority. We will get the Created, but not at the risk of the lives of the ones who are important to us.”
Everyone nodded their head in understanding.
“Ash?”
“I’m monitoring five life signs. Aran, two of them are Crux.”
“That’s impossible.” Nicolas went to his station and began tapping on the computer screen.
“Nicolas?”
“Confirmed. They are Crux.”
“Are they close to the human life signs?”
“Yes. All four signs are within close proximity. None of them are moving. They are probably behind an energy field.”
“Change in plans. We won’t be setting the glider down. Ash, find us a spot close enough to the action and low enough to the ground so we can jump.”
Ash turned his attention back to the screen, allowing his fingers to flow over it.
“Mick, when we are clear, take the glider up. Stay under the radar if possible and be prepared to run at the first hint of danger. Dante will contact you when it’s safe to return.”
“Got it.” Mick took the seat Aran just vacated.
“We have five minutes; you may want to go say one final goodbye before we jump.”
The command center was left empty as both the single and mated males made their way out.
Nicolas stood at the emergency exit of the glider. He allowed his humanoid shape to recede as that of his beast took over. Tonight, both of the Crux would die. This wasn’t his first encounter with them. They attacked his home planet several times before and they weren’t looking for the latest advances in technology. They had no interest in that. Instead, they were looking for a new opponent to fight. They found the Created. Very few survived that first encounter, but those who did, felt they had bragging rights. They fought the Created and lived to tell about it. These two wouldn’t be that lucky.
He stepped out of the door into pure air as Aran gave the signal. A safe place to drop was several hundred yards above the top of the tree line. The drop had him rolling as he hit the ground before standing. He waited as Aran went next. Soon they were all on the ground, with Mick taking the glider far enough away not to be spotted by the tainted one.
Nicolas blended in with his surroundings and moved off in the direction of the snarling Crux. The others quickly followed him.
He stopped as he came to the open circle in the midst of the dense forest.
“My guests have arrived.”
In the middle of the circle, far behind both the Crux and the females, stood the tainted one. He was on a podium that was shrouded in shadows allowing him to barely be seen, while staying out of harm’s way.
“Come into the ring. Don’t be shy.” Lights popped on revealing each of the Created. “I wanted to make sure the Crux had a fair fight. I see you didn’t bring your females with you tonight. No matter. There are plenty of other earth females for them to impregnate or kill trying. The first matter of business is the two females hanging so nicely here. The Crux have decided they want them. But to be sporting, since you’ve claimed at least one of them, I have informed the Crux they must eliminate all of you first.”
The force field holding the Crux in place was removed, they dropped to the ground with a roar and ran for the Created.
Nicolas spotted Janis. He immediately began to angle himself to stand between her and the Crux. This was way too close for comfort. He knew the minute she spotted him. A big smile came across her face.
He felt his chest puff with pride when he realized she’d picked him out even though he and his brothers were in alien form. The love he felt for her simply intensified. His mate knew him and she loved him. There was confidence brimming in her eyes, knowing he would bring her home and he would.
“Nicolas, I knew you would come for us!”
“Janis, are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, so is Theresa. He never touched us, just talked us to death.”
“We’re going to get you out of here.”
“I love you, Nicolas.”
The Crux tackled him and together they fell and began to roll.
“This planet has made you soft,” the Crux laughed.
Nicolas said nothing as he continued to direct his enemy far away from his mate. He trusted his brothers would eliminate the other one.
Nicolas used a swift knee to th
e Crux genitals to break the hold he had on him. The loud noise was enough to let him know he’d hit his mark.
He flipped back and stood. “You may want to put that away if you want a fair fight.” He shot him a cocky grin.
A hard shell formed around the Crux genitals “I’m going to kill you, Nicolas and keep your woman as my toy.”
“I believe you threatened to kill me last time also.” Nicolas laughed. “As you can see, I’m still here.”
The Crux pulled out a weapon he had at his side, causing Nicolas to jump up and catch the branches of the tree overhead.
The weapon destroyed the tree he’d been standing in front of. Nicolas jumped to another tree and made his way around the Crux until he was in back of him. Throwing himself from the tree, he landed on his back, knocking the Crux down and reaching for his weapon.
The Crux knocked him off, losing the weapon in the process. He stood and ran for him. Nicolas’s body elongated and stretched to his true height. His fangs shot out, while his deadly claws lengthened. The two met with Nicolas’s claws going deep into the body armor the Crux wore.
“Not my mate,” Nicolas roared as he tore off the head of his enemy. The ferocious voice of his beast could be heard for miles.
Nicolas stood and stretched. His other side had never been fully present since he’d come to earth. On this planet, there was nothing to control the male who would kill if the moment warranted it.
He wanted to go explore this new planet through his eyes. He wanted to see these things the people crawled around in. He wanted to make his presences known, until he heard her.
Her voice reached out to him, soft and melodic, calling his name. He needed to find her, be with her. Would he scare her? If she saw the real him would she run away?
The thought caused him to hesitate. What if his mate rejected him? He lashed out in anger at a nearby tree, as a deep mourning sound left his lips. What if his mate didn’t love him?
Nicolas: Love me Harder - Alien Paranormal Romance Page 17