I swung with precision and cut a long gash from his shoulder to his navel. He screamed, but I continued. A gash on his cheek, his side. He lunged again with full force, and I plunged the sword deep into his chest. Surprised registered on his face as I watched the life drain from his eyes. Holding the end of the sword, I shoved him away. He was dead before he ever hit the floor.
I threw down the sword and hurried over to my mate. Red blood oozed from a leg wound. Bruises marred her creamy white skin, and my temper flared higher than before. I tamped it down and tried to gentle my voice.
I touched her shoulder and quickly withdrew my hand when she flinched. Words escaped me. At that moment, I felt helpless. I didn’t know what to do.
A nearby blanket caught my eye. I snatched it up and then covered the female with it. “I am going to pick you up. I promise, I won’t hurt you.”
Nothing. She never even acknowledged I had spoken. I scooped her up and clutched her tightly to my chest and squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. Had I got here in time? That was the question that kept running through my mind.
I carried her outside, where the Alpha team waited with another human. I narrowed my eyes in question, but right then, I had more pressing matters to attend to.
It worried me that she was so light in my arms. Not making a sound. I glanced down and caught her large dark-brown eyes staring at me. My gut clenched tightly, and I pulled her a little closer to my chest, tucking the top of her head under my chin.
Looking back at Alpha team and the human, I asked, “Where’s Nikkul?”
The little human stared at the female in my arms. “He’s back at the cave with Jane. Is she okay?” I never answered.
A strong male stepped forward. “Bring her back to the cave.” I raised an eyebrow at the order. I didn’t know who he was, but I watched in disbelief as he turned and walked away, expecting me to follow.
The human glanced at the female in my arms before catching my eye. “I’m Clara, and that’s Var.” She pointed at the male who had just issued the order. “He has a secret network set up to help rescue the kidnapped females. He gets them back home when possible.”
My lip curled in anger as I followed the others back to the cave. “Then why did the Travistion have my mate?”
“When Amanda saw Nikkul’s teeth, it frightened her, and she fled from the cave.”
My jaw clenched in agitation. I wanted to rip Nikkul apart, but I knew I wasn’t thinking rationally. He would never threaten a human, and my head knew that. My heart, though, wanted to kill anyone who caused her pain.
We walked into the cave, which was filled with several different species, mostly female. Nikkul hurried over to me. “Commander, what happened to her?” I spared him an irritated glance.
“Put her over there.” Var motioned to a cot.
I don’t know who he thinks he’s talking to, but I am not taking orders from him and I will not let go of the female in my arms!
“No!” I clutched her tighter to me.
Another human came bounding over. She placed her hand on Nikkul’s arm as she stared at the female in my arms. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure, Jane,” the other female, Clara, said as she stepped closer to me, laying her hand on my mate’s arm. “Amanda, are you okay?” Amanda flinched at Clara’s touch.
“Don’t!” I growled when I noticed her—Amanda’s—discomfort. This was the one we were searching for. Susan’s friend.
“Jane,” Nikkul warned as he gently laid his hand on her shoulder. When she leaned her head against him, my face twisted in confusion.
Pulling Amanda tightly against my body, I could see the blood slowly dripping down her leg. I needed to help her. Take care of her. I looked at the one in charge of the cave and asked, “Is there somewhere she can get cleaned up? Somewhere private?”
Var pointed to another chamber. “In there. It’s not private, though.”
I nodded, looked to Nikkul and ordered, “Guard the entrance. No one gets in.” Amanda whimpered, and my gut clenched. I carried her into the chamber and ordered in a commanding voice, “Everyone, get out!”
There were only three or four, but they quickly climbed out of the water and left the bathing chamber.
“Let me help you.” I turned. Jane stood just behind me with worry in her eyes.
As much as I wanted to say no, I knew another female, another human, would make Amanda more comfortable. I gave a quick nod and headed for the pond.
Amanda remained completely covered when I gently set her down beside the water. I looked into her frightened dark brown eyes and tried to reassure her. I stroked the hair from her forehead with my thumb. “I promise, I won’t hurt you, nor will I let anyone else hurt you. You are safe.”
“Amanda,” Jane said as she softly approached. “Where are you hurt?”
“My leg, mostly,” she finally replied. She clutched the ends of the blanket tighter, pulling them close as she tried to sit up.
I couldn’t bring myself to ask the one question I desperately needed the answer to as I wrapped my arm around her back and tried to help her into a sitting position. Wavy black hair draped over one shoulder. When my eyes locked with hers again, her beautiful eyes looked almost black. “Thank you,” she said while holding my gaze. I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded.
Amanda
My body shivered involuntarily. I wasn’t cold, just in shock. The blanket gave me some sense of security, even though I was still naked underneath. My hand throbbed, but severe pain shot through my leg. It felt like a knife had sliced right through it. Even my scalp hurt, and I’m pretty sure there were clumps of hair missing.
When the other alien ripped my clothes off and braced himself above me, I closed my eyes while a lone tear escaped. I swore I’d never be in that position again, and there I was. Thinking of my safe place to help me escape reality, pictures formed inside my head of warm waves lapping at a sandy beach, the wind in my hair as I smelled the salty water. If I concentrated hard enough, I could hear the waves crashing in the distance.
Someone covered me with a blanket before cradling me to his warm, hard chest. He smelled strong, masculine. Even though I was still scared, a peaceful veil descended over me. I didn’t trust this man, but I didn’t fear him, either.
He refused to lay me on the cot. I didn’t want him to. Instead, he ordered everyone out of the bathing pond and gently laid me down. His bright blue cat-eyes were mesmerizing, and I could see the worry shining back at me. I wanted to tell him everything was all right, thank him for rescuing me. But I couldn’t speak, at least not yet. I stared into his warm eyes, my heart pounding in my ears.
“Amanda?” My eyes slid toward Jane as she approached. Her steps were cautious, like she was approaching a wounded animal that would lash out and bite her. “Where are you hurt?”
Everywhere! I needed some ibuprofen—that, and a good strong drink to ease the pain. Not that I said any of that. I swallowed hard and reached for the blanket that covered my leg. “My leg, mostly.”
I maneuvered the blanket and stretched out my bare leg. The ragged edges on the long gash, from below my knee to above my ankle, had clotted, dirty blood that smeared from the wound down my skin.
“Oh, Amanda, that looks painful.” Jane glanced up at me and then back to my leg. I could tell she wasn’t used to seeing wounds as bad as the one on my leg. Some people just couldn’t stomach it.
“We can fix it quickly on my ship,” a deep, masculine voice said as he gripped my leg to get a better look. His touch warmed my skin, made it tingle where he touched. The feeling overwhelmed me, scared me a little. Too much had happened today.
I shook my head violently. I just wanted to rest and forget about what happened. “I want to stay here.”
His eyes softened. “I’m Kavvan, Commander of the Victory. I promise, you will be safe.”
I couldn’t think about that right now. I didn’t want to go with him, I didn’t want to stay on this planet. I woul
d give anything to be back in that abandoned building, eating whatever Susan and I could find. At least we had each other.
I reached over and scooped up some water to wash the blood away. It probably wasn’t the smartest idea to pour unsanitary water over a deep gash. Who knew what kind of bacteria grew on this planet?
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jane asked as she glanced at Kavvan momentarily before holding my gaze.
I could see the concern in Jane’s eyes so I forced a smile and said, “I’ll be fine. Could you please get me some more clothes?”
“Sure thing.” She looked relieved to have something to do.
Just as I reached down for some more water, Kavvan grabbed my wrist. “What’s this?” he demanded as his thumb traced one of my many scars.
I yanked my wrist away, embarrassed that he’d seen it, and I said in a small voice. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing.” I watched as he scanned what little skin was still exposed, thankful that most of the scars were still covered.
“It really is nothing. It happened a long time ago, and I hadn’t thought about it in forever.”
I didn’t want to think about that time in my life, but when Kavvan brought it to my attention, my mind drifted back to things better left forgotten.
Mom would lash out at me for no reason, say I ruined her life. Dad took off before I could remember, and Mom never let me forget it. Always blaming me, saying I was the reason he’d left. He never wanted kids, and I was an accident, one that shouldn’t have happened. And when she….
“Here is another,” Kavvan said as he turned my arm over.
I yanked my arm away and said, “I know.” It came out a little harsher than I intended. But why the hell did he have to bring it up? I’d moved on, shoved that time in my life into a little corner and forgotten about it. I didn’t need him to drag it from that corner, place it front and center, and remind me of something I’d worked so hard to forget.
“Who did this to you?” His eyes flared with anger as he shoved the blanket from my shoulder. The evidence was scattered across my chest and upper back.
I scrambled to get the blanket back in place, an overwhelming need to hide myself from is scrutiny. “Please don’t!” Of everyone who’d seen the scars, I didn’t want Kavvan to see me like this.
Tears fell from my eyes, and it pissed me off. Never show weakness. I’d hardened myself a long time ago, and here I sat crying in front of this man. Before I could say anything, he wrapped his arms around my body and pulled me into his chest. That made it worse. Silent tears streamed down my face.
“Let me take you to the Victory. The medi-chamber can heal your wounds as well as your scars.”
I leaned back and asked with doubt. “Really?” I didn’t honestly think anything would heal scars. Was he lying, just to get me on his ship?
“Yes. And your friend is very worried about you.”
“Susan is there?” I asked excitedly. I needed Susan. She’d always been my rock, the one who told me to give everyone the middle finger when life started to close in on me.
“Yes. That’s why we came back. She’s been distraught about you.”
Susan was there. I closed my eyes as a burden lifted from my shoulders. One I didn’t know I’d carried. “Is she okay?”
His lips twitched. “You can say that. She scared everyone a little at first. Throwing things, yelling profanities.” He slightly shook his head.
“Yeah, she’s fine then.”
Jane came running in. “Here are some more clothes.” I reluctantly broke eye contact with him when Jane held them out in front of me.
I gave her a half smile. “Thanks, Jane.” I took the silver clothes from her outstretched hand. “Can you both give me some privacy so I can get dressed?”
Jane smiled before she quickly turned and fled the bathing area. Kavvan didn’t move. I could see the hesitation written on his face. After a moment, he slowly shook head and admitted, “I cannot.” He took the silver jumpsuit from my hands. “I promise not to look at you, but you’re injured and I cannot let you do this by yourself. You may lose your balance and fall, further injuring yourself.”
With slow, methodical movements, he unfolded the jumpsuit and shook out the legs. Looking at my feet, he said, “Place your hands on my shoulders to steady yourself.”
My breath quickened when I gripped his shoulders with my hands, standing. I could feel the hard muscles, strong and rippling when he stretched out the jumpsuit, holding it open. Electricity zipped through my hands when I touched him. I almost yanked them away, but he didn’t seem to notice, so I ignored it.
I bunched the blanket up, still covering my breasts and middle, and then placed one leg and then the other in the pants. His eyes never once looked at my chest when I dropped the blanket and quickly pulled the clothes over my upper body. I puffed out a breath of relief to be dressed once again. When I raised my eyes to his, he was staring at me. My world tilted as I looked deep into his warm, caring eyes.
“Thanks,” I said in a whisper.
He did a quick nod, and before I knew what was happening, he hooked his arms beneath my knees and scooped me up in his strong arms. “Ohh!” My arms automatically went around his neck.
He grinned, “You didn’t think I would make you walk on that leg, did you?” He carried me out to the main area where everyone waited.
Clara scampered over. “Are you all right, Amanda?”
“I’m good, thanks, Clara.”
Var walked up and faced Kavvan. “I assume you will be leaving soon. Can we discuss an arrangement in private?”
Kavvan’s body tensed, then relaxed as his hand caressed my arm. He looked down at me and I smiled. “Let me down so you can talk to Var.” When he hesitated, I playfully smacked his hand. “I’m a big girl.”
He finally set me down and walked away with Var.
“What’s up with that?” Clara asked with wide eyes.
“With what?”
“He’s so protective of you.” She crossed her arms and sneered. I covered my mouth to hide my laugh at her expression. Clara wasn’t that much less than my twenty-four years, but life experience made her seem so much younger than me.
Jane smiled a little. I’d noticed the way she and Nikkul stayed close to each other. Where was he now? I turned my head, searching for him, but he wasn’t there. “Where’s Nikkul?”
Jane’s cheeks flushed. “He’s around here somewhere.”
My eyes bored into her flushed face before I spotted the bite mark on her neck. “Oh my God! What happened to your neck? Did he bite you?” She must have noticed how horrified I was by the thought—a vampire bite.
“Shhh,” she placed her finger to her lips and looked around. “It’s not like that,” she said in hushed tones. “Nikkul explained it all to me. When the Azziarins mate, they bite their mate’s neck to make it official. Or something like that.”
I raised one eyebrow. “Really? So he’s not going to bite anyone else?”
“Yes, really. And no, he’s not going to bite anyone else.”
Did that mean that she had mated Nikkul? My mind sifted through possibilities while I watched Jane. She averted her eyes and stared down at the floor.
“Why would you let him bite you?” Clara asked with a confused look on her face.
My lips twitched at her nervousness. “Jane,” I grinned, “what have you been doing?”
“I like him, okay?” She shrugged. “I’ve been alone for a long time, and when I’m with him, I feel special. I won’t apologize for that.” She raised her chin in defiance, and I burst out laughing, happy that I wasn’t the only one that found the Azziarins wildly irresistible.
“Did you kiss Nikkul?” Clara’s voice came out stunned and high-pitched.
“What?” Jane looked like a mother who had just been caught by her kids.
I grinned at Clara and raised an eyebrow. “I think they did more than kiss,” I turned to Jane, “but when did you find the ti
me?”
“Clara and Var chased after you, but I thought you’d be right back.” She looked a little guilty. “Sorry I didn’t come after you, too. We just…”
Clara stared with wide eyes, engrossed in the story. “Just what?” she almost shouted with anticipation.
Jane flashed her an irritated look and shook her head. Clara was way too eager, but Jane pressed on. “Just explaining why we didn’t come after her.”
“You had sex with him?” Clara covered her mouth with her fingers. Jane puffed out a breath. “Well, did you?”
“Oh, God, Clara. Please stop!”
“Geesh, Jane, I just wanted to know. Nothing exciting ever happens here.”
“Uh, we rescue females and steal supplies.”
“Yeah, but we do that all the time. So, did you?” Clara stared wide-eyed, waiting for an answer.
Jane shook her head in defeat. Her words came out clipped. “Yes, Clara, I did.”
Clara grinned. “Was his thingie any different than human men?”
“Shut up, Clara. That’s none of your business.”
“Fine.” Clara harrumphed and crossed her arms.
I listened as Jane and Clara bantered back and forth. It lightened the intense mood from earlier. Jane still looked embarrassed when I asked, “Are you going with Nikkul back to his ship?”
“Yes,” she replied without thought. They must have it bad. “Are you?”
I took a deep breath and smiled. “Yes, my friend Susan is there.”
“Well, if you two are going then I’m going, too!” I smiled at Clara and nodded.
Var, Kavvan, and Nikkul walked over to us. Kavvan placed his hand on my shoulder. “Ready to go?” When I nodded, he scooped me up, refusing to let me walk.
7
____________________
Reunited
Amanda
When Kavvan carried me from the shuttlecraft, Susan raced over to me. “Mandy! Oh, my God, what happened?” Her eyes flashed briefly to Kavvan’s. “I’ve been so worried about you.” Her hands rubbed my arm as she walked beside us.
Kavvan (The Azziarin Series Book 7) Page 7