by Sarah Marsh
“My bear hands are mighty!” Luca pushed back. “Your puny feline paws could never compare and you know it.”
Luca knew they had some interested parties from their size alone, but outing themselves as shifters was the nail in the coffin. Two men stood from the table on their left and approached.
“Hey now, friends, there’s no need to fight,” the weaselly-looking man said as he walked up to them. “We know a brothel with some really hot tail, plenty enough for two strapping males such as yourself. You wanna go see them?”
“And a drink?” Bae asked as he pretended to lean precariously to the side. “I need another drink, too, and a female.”
“Of course, friend. There’s drinks enough for everyone.”
“Well, what are you waiting for then—lead the way.” Luca slammed his arm so hard over the little man’s shoulder that he almost crumpled to the ground, but then he nodded and two more men followed them out of the bar into the main concourse of the station.
It was late and there weren’t many people wandering around. They’d left immediately as soon as the council had given them the assignment. Time was of the essence in a case such as this. There were only a few things that the pirates would want a female for, none of them good, and they usually just went after the easy marks. The only reason they’d have gone to the trouble of kidnapping one of the human females from a full ship of Dolovian soldiers was that they’d taken a contract to retrieve her. So he and Bae needed to get to her before she was delivered to the buyer, in whatever form that may be.
They didn’t have to wait long for the men following their trio to make their move. Almost as soon as they stepped away from the main station pathway, they were shot with tranq darts from behind. Of course, the dosage was nowhere near enough to take down a mature dragon shifter, but they went along all the same, dropping to the dirty floor as if they were rendered unconscious.
The path back to their abductors’ shuttle seemed to take forever, especially with the weak bastards whining the entire time about how heavy they were to carry—Luca would have been worried they’d become suspicious of the extra weight if they hadn’t been complete idiots. Any real hunter would have figured out that he and Bae were much too heavy to be bear or cat shifters. Their bodies had almost twice the density due to how large they became in shifted form. They’d taken an educated guess that the pirates wouldn’t be overly familiar with their kind—dragons did have a nasty habit of killing anyone who didn’t seem worthy of keeping their secrets—and much to his eternal shame, he and Bae were the only two dragon shifters ever reported as being captured for the slave fights.
Finally, they were dropped onto the floor of a filthy-smelling shuttle, and Luca felt the ship disengage from the space station. This was always the hardest part of a job like this. To remain relaxed enough to fool their captors into believing they were unconscious fought against every instinct he had, but the human female was running out of time, and this was the safest way to get to her. Just about two hours later, the ship finally reached their destination.
“Oy! Get two of them hover-stretchers, Wally.” The voice from the bar echoed now that the engines had gone quiet. “I think I busted the hydraulics on me new arm hauling around these two bastards.”
Luca seriously hoped the little weasel had indeed busted something, as he had dropped Luca more times than he could count on their way to the shuttle bay. If he weren’t a shifter, his entire ass would be black and blue by now. He was rolled onto the gurney, and he had to stop himself from struggling when he felt the restraints tighten over his chest and legs.
“Where to with these ones, Lars?”
“Straight to the lab. Doc wants them registered and sent off to the pits immediately. These two are gonna make us a fortune.”
When they started moving, Luca opened one eye a mere slit so he could check out their surroundings. Bae was on his own identical stretcher in front of him, not appearing to be any worse for wear. Luca was surprised, however, at how large the docking bay they were in was and just how many ships were here. This would take some planning on their side to get Marisol Lewis off this station in one piece and make certain they could either outrun their captors or make sure no one would be in any shape to follow. The Sirotian Guild Master was correct in sending them for extraction. If anyone were to come at these pirates head-on, there would be no telling what kind of trouble they would have found.
They passed dozens of space scum in various stages of disrepair as he and Bae were pushed down the hallways. It was a wonder any of them could function with the state of their hack-job replaced limbs and cyber enhancements. When they were finally pushed into the lab, Luca couldn’t believe their luck. Right there on a table in front of them was the human female. She looked to be completely intact and unharmed, although she was clearly quite drugged by the look of confusion on her face. But this would make their job so much easier now that they didn’t have to locate their target. All they had to do now was plan an escape and stop hundreds of mutant pirates from chasing them. They’d had much worse days than that.
Chapter Eight
Mari knew she’d been here in this lab for at least twenty-four hours, maybe more. It was hard to keep track with the drugs the doctors kept giving her making her thoughts foggy. She had been terrified they were going to bring her back to their ship and kill her, but now she knew she’d been naïve in thinking that could be the worst fate for her.
“Doc, the big boss wants confirmation that she’s been taken care of. We can’t renege on this deal. He’ll hunt us all down.”
Mari had watched the man who’d stolen her from the Dolovian ship and the bastard doctor who’d been doing tests on her argue about her fate back and forth on more than one occasion. She was still in shock to realize that someone had paid to have her killed simply because she was human.
“Lars, don’t be so shortsighted.” The doctor sighed at his partner once again. “My contact is certain that with a little more genetic information, they will be able to keep the body viable once we remove the head. They’d still be able to implant and bring the offspring to term, and we’d be able to sell the human hybrids for a fortune.”
Oh god, my babies. She fought the roiling of her stomach at the idea that they’d use her in such a way. Death would be so much better than that.
“Well, we have a few hours to figure it out, so get those samples sorted and sent off.” The doctor looked down at her with a sadistic gleam in his eye, “Now, pretty, this might hurt a bit. Feel free to scream.”
And she did as the old bastard stuck a huge syringe in her abdomen and injected her with something. The pain was abrupt and so intense that thankfully she passed right out.
* * * *
Mari barely managed to open her eyes as loud crashing noises woke her. It sounded as though someone had been thrown into a wall. She fought with the drugs in her system, trying desperately to focus on what was happening in the room around her. Though, when she did finally focus her sight, the scene that played out before her certainly didn’t bring her any comfort. There were two rather large half-naked men, covered in tattoos, beating the hell out of the guards and the doctors in the room. Everything else in the lab was in shambles and seemed to be covered in a fine layer of frost.
What in the hell is going on here?
The colder temperature helped to clear some of the cobwebs from Mari’s mind, but she still couldn’t move her arms or legs.
Why is it freezing in here? It was cold enough that her breath fogged in the air as it left her body. She was so distracted by the change in temperature that she didn’t notice the room had now become quiet.
“Marisol Lewis?”
She moved her gaze toward the dark-haired man who was speaking. His voice was low and growly, but his accent was rather civilized for a space pirate.
“We have been sent from the Coalition Council to retrieve you and take you safely back to Sirus.” As he stepped closer to her and examined how she was stra
pped to the medical bed, he continued, “I assure you, you will be quite safe with us. Can you understand what I’m saying? Blink if you do.”
She blinked up at the stranger. He was quite an imposing man and he must have been well over six feet tall. He had dark, wild hair past his shoulders and warm golden eyes that seemed unusually calm considering the situation they were in. Both men were dressed only in tight shorts, and she could see that both their arms and chests were covered in tattoos, the hard muscles drawing her gaze in spite of herself. There was a wild air about him, something that she hadn’t quite encountered before, but as long as he wasn’t with the pirates and had no interest in separating her head from her body, then things were looking up as far as Mari was concerned. He carefully removed the IV from her arm and bandaged the wound before wrapping the sheet around her.
“Luca, go,” another man said from behind them. “Take her and get to the surface. I’ll disable their ships and follow with a shuttle.”
“Be careful, Baelion,” Luca answered with a nod as he reached for Mari and gathered her up in his arms like a child.
His skin was so warm she shivered as she burrowed in deeper, but not before she peeked over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of his partner. Baelion was just as large as Luca, but they seemed to be contrasting in all other things except the tattoos that covered them both. The second man had long white-blond hair and shocking blue eyes that had a distinct twinkle to them, unlike Luca’s serious golden gaze.
“When have I ever not been careful?” he teased as he turned and ran out the other door, away from them.
Mari heard Luca’s grunt, then his grumbled, “Stubborn male.”
She still couldn’t feel anything below her waist, and she was almost glad for that at the speed he was running down the hallway right now, because if she’d had any damage, she would no doubt have been screaming in pain. The quiet was broken when they turned a corner and ran into a surprised pirate, who managed to yell out before Luca’s huge fist connected with his face. Mari felt the splatter across her arm of what she knew must be blood, but there was no way she was going to look as they continued to barrel down the hall until they reached the shuttle bay. Once the huge metal doors closed behind them, Luca turned and pushed her face tighter into his chest.
He took in a huge breath, and as he exhaled, the air around them heated to a shocking level. Mari could smell the sharp scent of melting electronics. When he removed his hand, all she could see was the mangled mess of what used to be the control panel to the door. Good grief—what on earth had he done to melt the metal and plastic? Was she really safe with this stranger? Mari tensed in his arms and desperately wished she had full control over her limbs at this moment, but her savior seemed to misinterpret her concern.
“Don’t worry, little one. It’s the middle of the night right before a shift change. We shouldn’t run into many pirates until the alarm is raised.”
It was almost as if the universe was playing with them both, when as soon as he’d said the words and placed her on the ground next to a row of shiny escape pods, a shrill noise rang through the large space.
“Damn, Bae,” he muttered to himself while fiddling with the electronic panel inside one of the pods. “What did you not understand about being careful?” he then turned back to Marisol, “We’re not going to have as much time as I’d hoped. I don’t have time to reprogram the exact coordinates, but I can get us onto the same land mass as the rendezvous point. Hopefully, Bae has better luck with the shuttle.”
All Marisol could manage in response was a concerned whimper as he picked her up once again and lay down in the pod, tucking her into his side to lie against him.
“Tight fit, but it’s safer this way to ensure we both end up in the same place.” As he took in the look on her face, he said, “Trust me, Marisol, you don’t want to end up where we’re going by yourself.”
Chapter Nine
Baelion cursed as the station’s alarm began to screech. His dragon did not appreciate the noise level, and it was urging him to just get the hell off this wretched space station. He had managed to reach an engineering console without running into anyone, but their computer system was a barely functioning disaster. His plan was to sabotage the launch of any shuttles after he had absconded with their ride off the planet. However, due to the state of their computers, he was going to have to adapt quickly. He could already feel the vibration of many feet coming his way.
Bae had made his decision and then did what he had to. Now it was time to get the hell out of here. He double-checked the station schematics and turned to run down the hall toward an escape pod, when three pirates stumbled around the corner, looking pissed that they’d been woken up in the middle of the night.
“Get him, Rory, and don’t be gentle about it.” The biggest pirate, who seemed to have the most natural, functioning parts, nodded toward him. “The doc can patch him up before we sell him.”
“Yeah, I don’t think your doctor will be patching anyone up anytime soon, friend.” Baelion winced as he took in the unfinished skin grafts on the male coming toward him. “Sorry that you won’t be able to get all that finished, but I really don’t have time to play right now.”
The closest male looked concerned when Bae let his dragon out a little and the hallway temperature dropped quickly. When blue-gray scales began to cover his skin, all three pirates gasped and then tried to turn tail and run.
“He’s a bloody dragon, you idiots. Run!”
They only got a few steps, however, before Baelion covered them in ice, their screams freezing in their lungs. Normally, he would never use his venom on a living being unless it was a life or death situation. To be frozen from the outside in was not a pleasant way to die. But he knew exactly what these males would have done to the human female he and Luca came to rescue if they’d gotten the chance, and that released him of all regrets—besides, he really didn’t have time for this.
He’d barely reached the escape pods closest to him and jumped in before the first explosions rocked the station. Bae hit the setting for the nearest habitable planet, not having time to enter specific coordinates. It seemed all their plans were going to hell on this mission.
Better to have to trek to find Luca and our charge rather than go down with the station, he mused as the pod ejected and shot off toward the planet below him. He watched through the small window as the rest of the station ignited one section at a time until finally, the entire thing exploded in a beautiful show of lights.
At least those pirate bastards wouldn’t be chasing them on the surface. There would be enough predators to watch out for as it was.
* * * *
They’d only been in the escape pod for about ten minutes when she began to feel the entire pod shake.
“Don’t worry. We’re just breaching the atmosphere of the planet,” he murmured quietly.
The small window above their faces was awash in fiery sparks. Mari was beginning to regain control over the rest of her body—she could move her head and fingers now. She clung to the warm, naked chest underneath her as the entire pod rocked and shook.
“I think we’re through the worst of it now, Marisol,” the large man said quietly once the shaking stopped. “It should be smooth sailing from here until we land.”
Although his voice didn’t sound one hundred percent confident, and that made her nervous. She tried her voice and was able to croak out a question.
“Why did you say it should be smooth sailing?” Mari looked up at his handsome face. He really was quite a striking man once she got past the intimidating tattoos and his sheer size.
“The local fauna on Draxis includes many apex predators that are capable of flight. I’m just hoping that the speed of the pod will deter them from becoming interested in us.”
“Interested in us how?” she asked cautiously.
“To be dinner, of course.”
Great, just fucking great. First, she got kidnapped by some creepy-ass missing-parts pirates
who wanted to separate her head from her body and then sell off the pieces for some horrifying baby-making scheme. Now, after a miracle had happened and she’d been rescued by two hunky beasts, she had to worry about becoming an in-flight snack to a crazy animal. This week had turned right to shit.
Almost an hour later, they finally drifted to the ground with a thunk. The landing wasn’t exactly comfortable, but at least they hadn’t run into anything bitey in their journey so far.
“I think I can walk now,” she said to her companion after he’d gotten out of the pod to check that it was safe to bring her out. Mari had to admit he was quite distracting in his tight shorts. The golden skin under the starkness of the black tattoos almost had her hypnotized watching him move.
“We need to leave the crash site immediately, as the noise would have drawn predators.” He looked at her wrapped in only the sheet that had been covering her. “I’ll carry you until we’re at a safe distance, and then we’ll see if you’re well enough to walk.”
Mari squealed when he quickly scooped her up and began running toward the tree line. When she finally got her bearings and really looked around, she was in awe of what she saw. The plants and trees on this planet were absolutely enormous in comparison to Earth’s. It was like some Jurassic throwback with trees that were as tall as five-story buildings and ferns that were as large as a hot tub. The colors she saw as they shot past were incredibly vibrant, giving everything an almost surreal look.
“Everything is so bright here. It looks different.”
“You’ve been on Sirus for some time now. You’ve probably adjusted to the UV spectrum of the red suns they have. The suns of Draxis are closer than what you’re used to, and they have a blue-green tint. Your eyes will adjust shortly, and it won’t seem so overwhelming to you.”