by Ravyn Wilde
She stayed where she was, leaning on the dirt wall to keep her on her feet. She didn’t want any small movement to attract attention. Besides, for the moment she couldn’t move. Not from the pain in her leg or from whatever she’d been shot with. She could barely keep breathing.
Every inhalation caused her body to shift and ache. But her mind still worked, and as she stood there, she heard the creatures outside turn and stomp away from her. As they went, they continued to talk.
“This woman is too much trouble. We need to go. No one will believe her stories anyway. Get the breeders to the ship. Grab the bodies on the way. Move it!”
Then there was a lot of cursing that didn’t translate into English and made her heart race. Shit. What the hell was she supposed to do?
She waited for several minutes, methodically counting to two-hundred and when she didn’t hear anything, she slowly moved the camouflaged leather flap and peaked out into the dark. She couldn’t see anything. And didn’t hear anyone moving close to her.
Taking a deep breath, she started to drag herself out of the hole. Every movement hurt. She definitely couldn’t put any weight on her leg. But no matter how difficult it was, she needed out of the ground so she could get to the back of the barn where hopefully she could see what was happening.
Keeping a tight grip on her gun, Makayla struggled and scooted until she was out of the hole, then she rolled over a few times, biting her lip so she wouldn’t cry out each time her broken leg shifted. Finally, she inched her way over to the side of the barn and army crawled to the end, ignoring the stabbing pain in her leg.
When she got to the end of the building, she scooted a few more inches so she could see around the corner. She looked out across the field, trying to see if she could tell what was happening. Maybe get a direction on the men who were kidnapping her sister and cousin.
Her jaw dropped open when a flying saucer rose into the air and shot upward, disappearing in seconds. Well, shit. Although the freaky four arms and red skin had been a pretty strong clue, her mind kept insisting that they were just men in costumes.
Makayla took a deep breath and started working her way to the house. She needed to call the Sherriff and figure out what the hell she would do next.
Her sister and cousin were both about ten years younger than Makayla. She wasn’t that old. She wished the damn aliens had taken her with them. Then she’d be with the girls and could work on getting them free.
She watched the ship disappear, tears tracking down her face.
Makayla wouldn’t give up.
Couldn’t give up. Her mother had been the last one to pass away. And Makayla had promised her mom on her death bed that she would take care of the girls. She looked up into the clear night sky and said a quick prayer that someone would hear her plea and send her some help.
She would just need to convince them that she wasn’t crazy first.
Chapter Two
MAKAYLA HOBBLED AROUND the house five days later. Making sure the windows and doors were locked for the night. Although she’d done that the night the girls were kidnapped. Having locked windows and doors hadn’t helped a bit. She sighed and propped herself up so she could put her thick, dark hair into a messy bun on top of her head.
She was thankful her left arm started working again. After the alien shot her on that side it had ached and refused to work for two days. The shock from his weapon had done something to her electrical system and caused a long burn that blistered before it started to heal. Now it just itched.
She needed her damn leg to heal so she could go out and search the forest behind the barn. She tried to avoid thinking about the spaceship she’d seen. The Sherriff and several of her friends from town had tried to convince her that it was a figment of her imagination.
They made a good point about the pain she was in and the shock of seeing the girls abducted, along with being tasered and falling into the root cellar and breaking her leg. They believed that shock and pain had led to hallucinations.
The police tracked her crawl marks and were able to see where several intruders had amassed behind the barn. But there had been no alien or human blood where she said she shot two of the creatures, nor had there been any sign of a flying saucer.
The police believed this had been a kidnapping and home invasion. Any time she insisted there were aliens, they patted her on the head and told her to get some rest. They would admit that the men could have been in costume to confuse things. What they thought had happened, was the two younger girls were kidnapped by a white slavery ring.
It was a white slavery ring. With the twist of the slavers being aliens.
She knew they shouldn’t be looking for humans. She’d seen freaky four-armed men with red skin and fur kidnap her sister Kaitlyn and her cousin Lauren. She’d drawn pictures of both the men and the spaceship to make sure she didn’t forget what they looked like.
She’d given the first copies of those drawings to the Sherriff, only to watch him put them in the garbage can when he walked out to his car. So, she’d made more drawings and quit talking about aliens. No one believed her.
She sighed. To be honest with herself, she didn’t think they would. So, she let them believe they had convinced her that she’d been seeing things. When she was alone in the house, she started worrying about what the one alien had said. “The earth man did not lie. These two women are prime samples of this planet.”
Did that mean someone was working with the aliens? A human that would pretend to help search for the girls and be a friend. Shit. She didn’t know what to think.
When she was alone, she could believe that somehow, someway, she would figure out how to get the girls back. She didn’t sit and worry about it, even with her broken leg. Instead, she worked on getting ready. So, when the opportunity presented itself, she could leave immediately.
She gathered all the ammunition and guns she had in the house. She baked granola bars and used up all the meat in the freezer to make jerky. Creating food that would last for weeks and packing it in several large plastic bags and then tucking them in several boxes and backpacks.
Was she crazy? Probably.
She didn’t care. If she didn’t prepare and believe—then the only option was to give up. She refused to do that.
When she started to doubt her state of mind, she looked at the drawings she made the night the girls were taken. She closed her eyes and remembered what the four-armed men looked like, how they moved. Using all four arms to hold things and when they picked up the girls.
They weren’t wearing costumes.
She wrinkled her nose and remembered how they smelled. It was a scent she’d never forget and one she’d never experienced before. Kind of a musky, sour smell.
Makayla knew she needed to be crazy right now. Because the alternative was losing the girls forever. She needed to believe in little green, well, red men and flying saucers. She needed to believe that someone would come to help her, or she’d figure out how to get into space. Somehow. Some way.
Because she wasn’t giving up. When she was a young girl she used to dream of aliens and riding in a spaceship. When she told her dad, he would nod and ask her how she felt, what she saw. He told her that he believed Earth wasn’t the only planet populated with people or living things.
Her dad thought it might be possible for her to experience those dreams in her lifetime. She may have stopped believing for a while, but she started again. She prayed, and hoped, and believed. And prepared. It wasn’t the reason she wanted to go into space, now she needed to.
The Sherriff wanted her to give up. He wanted her to let him deal with the search and eventual rescue. Only Makayla knew he wasn’t going to find the girls in the next town over. They hadn’t been kidnapped by humans and taken over the border.
No. They’d been taken into white slavery and hidden in space. He could look all he wanted. She knew she’d been left behind because she was “too old to have children.” The girls had been taken into space
to be used as breeders. She knew what the creatures looked like and how they did it while the Sherriff was still scratching his head. Confused. Now she just needed to figure out what to do next.
She said the right things and nodded her head when the Sherriff wanted her to agree. When he left, she packed clothes for herself and the girls. Packed shampoo and conditioner, toothpaste and brushes, makeup, and hygiene products. Hell, she’d even packed toilet paper because she had no idea what she’d need in space.
She had enough food, guns, and ammunition for a small army. Once that was done, she thought about the things they wouldn’t need, but might want. Things to comfort them for the time they were far from home.
She made sure to pack pictures of their parents. Art supplies for the three of them, because drawing and painting was a shared passion. Kaitlyn’s throwing knives. And the girls' favorite books and cuddle blankets. Lauren’s arm and leg guards for karate. More art supplies and the handguns she found in their rooms. Shit. The pile was getting bigger and she still had no idea how she was going after them.
When the doorbell rang, she sighed in relief. Hope. She cocked her head. No, that was relief. She figured if there were damn aliens out there that could kidnap the girls, there had to be aliens that she could get to rescue them. She just had to figure out how to find one.
She took a deep breath. Maybe they found her.
She hopped her way over to the front door, not wanting to search for her crutches. She had made the doctor put on a walking cast with the understanding she wouldn’t put any weight on it for at least a week. She tried to stay off it, but it hadn’t been easy.
She took a deep breath before she put her hand on the doorknob. She slowly opened the front door and stared at the vision on her porch. The man was tall. Muscular and built with a broad chest and strong arms and legs. He had a bit of day-old scruff on his face. The bright, sparkling green eyes and reddish-brown hair that was a little wavy, just plain did it for her. His hair brushed the top of his shoulders. Sighing, she lowered her lashes and let her shoulders slump.
The man was human. Normal. Shit.
Beating back depression, she opened her eyes. “Can I help you?” she asked, trying to keep the hostility out of her voice. She wanted to get back to pacing and worrying. Instead of wasting her time talking to a stranger. Even if he was really great-looking and under different circumstances she would be tempted. After all, he had really nice muscles. Hmmm. Okay, she could spend a few minutes talking to him and then it was back to pacing and worrying.
He looked at her and frowned. “My name is Falcon and I am here for Makayla.”
“I’m Makayla.”
“I know. I...brought you flowers.”
She sighed. “No thank you.” Guilt was already dancing down her spine. She wasn’t going to take the bunch of wildflowers from his hand. She had to go.
“I would like to come in and explain why I’m here, I can take you places you’ve only dreamed about.” He smiled at her.
She snorted. “Buddy, that is lame and the only place I’m dreaming about is in outer space.” She raised her hand to stop him from moving forward. “Unless you have a spaceship, forget it!” She swung the door shut.
It didn’t matter how handsome the man was, talking to him or anyone was just a waste of her time. She had things to do. She needed to make a list and make sure she didn’t forget anything the girls would need. Surely someone would come soon. She had to have hope.
FALCON STOOD AT THE door that had been abruptly closed in his face. He was in shock. He had arrived at his Keeper’s home and rang the doorbell to the large white house. As he waited, with his heart pounding in a wild beat and his hands shaking, he reviewed the advice from the successful Guardians to ensure he had followed everything they said.
His hair was a little long, his body muscular, and he was dressed in a black leather jacket. Even though the weather was a little warm. He gripped the bouquet of wildflowers and let just a tiny touch of the Binding Pollen dust his body.
He thought he was ready.
When the door started to creep open, he held his breath and almost passed out when he got the first glimpse of his Keeper. She was beautiful! She had a mass of curly dark brown hair secured in a messy bun on the top of her head. Her mocha-colored skin tempted him to touch and caress. Deep brown eyes gazed into his soul. He kept his hands to himself. Waiting for her to invite him in. Then he would touch. He took a deep breath.
“Can I help you?” she asked him. Her voice a little clipped.
Although he swore there was interest in her eyes.
He frowned. Was something wrong with the way he looked? She didn’t seem to find his form pleasing. The other Guardians had said the women went crazy over their muscles and really liked long hair. He’d also taken their recommendations and dressed this form in tight jeans and an even tighter black tee-shirt. She didn’t seem to find him irresistible.
That was disappointing.
His high expectations sank.
He held out the wildflowers he’d chosen for his Keeper and slowly drew them back when she ignored them. He looked at her and frowned. “My name is Falcon and I am here for Makayla.”
“I’m Makayla.”
“I know. I...brought you flowers.” He offered them again.
She sighed. “No thank you.”
“I would like to come in and explain why I’m here, I can take you places you’ve only dreamed about.”
She snorted. “Buddy, that is lame and the only place I’m dreaming about is in outer space.” She raised her hand in the universal sign that meant stop. “Unless you have a spaceship, forget it!”
Then she slammed the door shut in his face.
Falcon’s mouth dropped open. She had shut him out. She wouldn’t even speak with him or give him an opportunity to convince her. The advice from the other Guardians had been wrong. He started to turn around when her last words ran through his head.
He stopped and grinned.
When he popped into the house and stood in front of her, she gasped and stepped back. Putting her hand over her heart.
“I have a spaceship and will take you anywhere you want to go if you agree to be my Keeper,” he announced and smiled at his amazing woman.
It didn’t take her long to recover. She stood as tall as she could, using the wall for balance. He frowned when he noticed her leg was hurt. He hadn’t seen that before. It was wrapped in something hard. At his confusion, the universal consciousness supplied the word cast. Ah, she had broken her leg.
His Makayla challenged him. “Really? Prove it,” she demanded with one hand propped on her hip.
So, he did.
Makayla screamed and crumpled at his feet.
Chapter Three
WELL, HELL.
This wasn’t going anything like the Guardians promised in their instruction on how to win a Keeper to your side in this day and age. He frowned. Unless they left a whole bunch of stuff out of their stories.
He would notify them from his ship that they were full of it.
Falcon didn’t think this time was much different from any other he’d been awakened. Several times in the past centuries the sight of him made his Keeper faint. Sometimes she screamed. Often, she did both and that was typically followed by a rush of men willing to help her chase him off.
He looked around the room and cocked his head. Maybe not this time. His Keeper was the only one in the house.
This time he needed to ensure that she understood he would do anything for her. He wanted this woman as his own and he was prepared to ensure her compliance. Some of the options for doing so might be considered to be fighting dirty. He looked at the cast on her leg and realized she would also gain much in return for his stretching the rules.
He considered his options.
For now, he had an unconscious Keeper to deal with. When he saw the couch in the next room, he picked up his Keeper and carefully laid her down. Barely resisting the urge to wander through h
er home, he decided it would be better if he just stayed with her and waited for her to awake. His body shuddered. He looked down and remembered he had taken off his clothes and morphed into his true form.
If she woke now, she would have a naked alien man standing over her. Probably not the best way to do things.
He decided he should change back to the human version of his body. He had masked his natural appearance before coming to her door, allowing his true self to shine through when she demanded proof.
At her demand, he had waved his hand and stood before her without the glamour needed to pass in her world. His features, size, and shape were the same. But instead of the brown hair with red highlights he used in this Realm, his hair was a true, neon red. His eyes were an even brighter green.
In place of a golden tan, his flesh glimmered with tones of dark silver. He sighed, realizing the suddenness of his reveal hadn’t been a good idea. He should have done it in small stages.
He quickly checked a few of the rooms downstairs for a blanket to cover Makayla. He found a soft blanket in a small room that also had several guns, dried food, and clothing packed in small bags and a few boxes. It looked as if she was preparing for war.
MAKAYLA WAS WARM, LAYING on her couch. She slowly regained consciousness remembering her girly shriek of horror when she demanded proof and got more than she bargained for.
She kept her eyes closed and her breathing slow. She knew she was laying on the couch in her living room. And the man, or alien, was in the room with her.
She needed time to process, to let her mind work through what she’d seen.
And man, in the flash of a few seconds before she passed out, she’d seen a lot.
Not only had the man standing before her morphed into a science-fiction character but he had been buck ass naked. And there was an enormous amount of stuff to cause her mind to blackout. The man had been beautiful before, but with a silver body that had longer fingers and toes, he was incredibly unusual and weirdly attractive.