by Mel Teshco
“I can’t believe you allow this kind of thing to happen,” she breathed.
Misha sent her an incredulous look. “Do you think I like being a part of all this?” She expelled a breath and her features evened out as she waved a hand to her left and began a running monologue. “This door here opens to a storage room. Nothing much is in there aside from cleaning products and some bulkier chemicals.” She wrinkled her nose. “The smell in there for someone like me is beyond revolting.”
Piper touched her flat stomach. If what everyone said was true, she had a baby developing inside her who would also have heightened senses. Superior smell, hearing and sight, and one day the ability to shift shape. It was nothing short of mind blowing.
Misha swept a hand to her right. “In there is our vast scientific laboratory where dozens of our scientists do their study and research.”
Piper glanced at the other woman. “You don’t mind that those same scientists are poking and prodding at subjects like yourself?”
Misha shrugged, her voice coming out all blasé. “I’ve also been subjected to those tests. It means nothing to me.”
Piper stilled. “Liar.” The other woman wasn’t fooling her, she was sensitive to emotions and Misha’s were seething like dark matter just under her skin. “You detested it, why don’t you just admit it.”
Misha pivoted with a glare and whispered angrily, “What does it matter? As long as I’m an obedient, loyal soldier, I’ll never be tested ever again.”
“And what do your parents think about you working as a PDA operative?”
Misha’s lips curled, her eyes flashing. “Dear old mom didn’t want to live with her werewolf side. She tried several time to commit suicide, twice while she was pregnant with me. Her attempt became reality when I was four.”
Piper gaped, a hand involuntarily moving to stroke her flat belly. “That’s terrible.” How could anyone leave behind their own daughter?
Misha pivoted and began walking. “Not in my mother’s eyes. She didn’t want to become a scourge on humanity. I guess she didn’t want me to be a scourge either.”
Piper caught up to her and put a hand on her arm. “I’m so sorry. No mother should think that about their own child.”
Misha glanced at her with large, blinking eyes. “Guess we can’t all have a brilliant mother like your child will have.”
A surge of protectiveness swept through Piper at the thought of her being a mom. “I hope you’re right.”
Misha looked straight ahead. “I know I am.”
Under the present circumstances, Piper shouldn’t give a shit about what Misha thought about her ability as a mother. She was pleased anyway. “Thank you.”
Misha didn’t react. Instead she nodded at another door to their left. “This is the canteen. Breakfast starts at seven and ends at nine. Lunch is eleven until one. Dinner is six till eight. But I’m sure you won’t need to learn the timetable.”
“Why do you say that?”
Misha glanced at her and murmured, “You are planning to escape, aren’t you?”
Piper stared. Before she could string together coherent words Misha was striding toward a door guarded by two soldiers. She typed in a code at the security keypad. “Come on, meet the Tantonic we’ve fondly named Fugly.”
“What about Baron?” Piper asked.
Misha grinned. “He’s next door.” She swept a hand along the corridor where three more doors were guarded. “These are some of our holding rooms used mostly to interrogate prisoners.” She held the door wide. “Are you coming?”
She exhaled. “Guess it’s time I faced my fears head-on.”
Misha arched a brow. “Don’t worry, your fetus will be safe.”
Only then did Piper realize she was clutching her belly. Motherly instinct had kicked in and yet Baron’s sperm would barely have pierced her egg. She dropped her hands away. “What are we waiting for?”
The huge Tantonic was chained to a wall. Its gray skin looked even grayer against a bright white bandage wrapped around its throat. Its armor plating covered its barrel torso and hung low to protect its genital area.
She repressed a shudder of revulsion, though everything about these alien creatures made her skin crawl.
Conversely the Riddich alien brought her nothing but wondrous joy. Baron had come to mean more to her than anyone she’d ever met on Earth. Her heart warmed. She’d do anything for the father of her unborn child.
Misha approached the Tantonic without fear and reached up to quickly unwrap its bandage. A rusty, black-colored patch of blood scabbed over a deep, puckered slash, and Piper put a hand over her nose at the putrid scent that was something between a festering sore and decaying meat.
Misha glanced back at her. “You should try having my sense of smell.”
The Tantonic turned its head, its flat stare focusing on Piper and its eyes sharpening. It took everything within her not to back away from the horrid alien. Not to be taken straight back to the day she’d seen an innocent police officer killed because he’d gotten in the Tantonics way.
At least the PDA soldiers had been given a fighting chance.
Misha had no such fear. She held the amulet in her palm where the alien could easily see it. “Look what I’ve got ... isn’t it pretty?”
The Tantonic lost interest in Piper and stared at the amulet, which glowed the faintest red. But he didn’t move, the chains didn’t even rattle as Misha continued her little chat.
“We were thinking you might like to wear it. That way you could tell us everything you know about your bloodthirsty people and what your intentions are here on Earth.”
Misha stepped closer and the chains rattled as though the alien couldn’t quite contain its excitement. “You’d like to wear this, wouldn’t you? But giving it to you means there are certain ... responsibilities to go with it. If I ask a question you have to talk.”
The Tantonic hissed defiance and Misha smiled, her face devoid of any compassion as she lifted her other hand and made it glow red-hot, before she pressed it against the alien’s cheek.
Burning, putrid flesh and the Tantonic’s yowls and hisses filled the thick silence.
Piper frowned. “Is this really necessary—“
Misha pulled back her hand and turned to her, eyes flashing. “You think this alien creep is going to spill the beans on his murderous friends if I don’t use some persuasion?”
Piper stepped forward, compassion softening her voice. “Is this how the PDA broke you?”
Misha laughed. “Do you truly think heat would affect me? No,” she turned back to the alien, “they used other, more ingenious ways to bend me to their will.” She pushed her palm against the alien’s other cheek for just a few more seconds, ignoring its cries. “No, heat is the only way to break these ice-loving freaks.”
She stepped back, eyeing the scorch marks on the Tantonic with something close to satisfaction. “I think that might break you, Fugly,” she said, before fitting the amulet into the crevice of the alien’s throat.
The gem was a snug fit, and its glow suddenly became a radiance of red light that for a moment outshone the fluorescent tube lighting.
A soldier rapped on the door and stepped inside. “Ma’am is everything all right in here?”
Misha nodded. “It’s all good, return to your station.”
“The general’s orders—“
“Being that the general isn’t here right now, you’ll be following my orders,” Misha interrupted coolly. “Get back to your station.”
The soldier didn’t argue and Piper stared at the other woman. What was Misha’s rank in this place? She didn’t wear a uniform and she didn’t salute. Maybe non-human soldiers were given more freedom?
Or maybe the hybrid and general shared more than professional allegiance?
Misha turned back to the Tantonic. “You will talk now or things will get very uncomfortable for you.”
“I’ll never talk,” the alien hissed woodenly.
*
Piper was all too glad to get out of the holding room. The scent of burning flesh and the Tantonics screams had left her feeling queasy and unsettled. The only thing that had kept her going through the whole ordeal was recognizing the information could be the difference between life and death for Baron and his kind ... including Misha.
Little wonder the hybrid hadn’t held back with her torture method, she too was in danger from the Tantonics, and the PDA was her one and only safety net.
“This way,” Misha instructed.
Piper stilled. “This isn’t where you’re keeping Baron.”
Misha shook her head. “No. We’ll go there next. We eat first.”
Piper was left with no choice but to follow her into the canteen, where bacon scents, along with toast and eggs, made her belly tighten and grumble. “Breakfast already?”
Misha nodded. “Actually it’s almost finished. You fell asleep with the blindfold on.” She grinned, looking more carefree than Piper had ever seen her. Had the Tantonic let slip with some important information? “Guess the cloth over your eyes was unnecessary,” she added.
“Guess so.”
It wasn’t until they were lining up for their breakfast that Misha leaned close to her and said in an undertone, “Load your plate up with anything you can hide in that white dress of yours. Baron will need all the calories you can give him.”
Chapter Fifteen
Baron had lost complete track of time in the room. With his body starved of calories and nutrients he’d sat in the corner facing away from the camera and huddled into a ball.
He wouldn’t use up any more energy than what he had to, and staying still, quiet and as stress-free as he could manage was the only way he’d achieve it.
Except this time when the door opened he didn’t stay passive. Like a flick of a switch his barely functioning body exploded into life.
His mate was here!
Ignoring Misha who followed Piper into the room, he pushed off the floor and stumbled toward his mate, pulling her into his arms and feeling her quiver against him. He pulled back and rasped, “Have they hurt you?”
She smiled up at him. “I’m fine, really.” Concern edged her words. “But you look like crap.”
Despite the fatigue that burned through his body and left his brain in a fog, he smiled in return. “I have to admit, I’ve felt better.”
A look passed between Piper and Misha. Then his mate pushed onto tiptoes and said, “Kiss me.”
He’d have to be ten foot under before he denied himself the pleasure of his mouth on hers. He nodded and bent, even as she turned them around so that her back faced the camera. Only then did he realize she’d taken something from her bra and put it between her lips.
His mouth covered hers, and he sucked in the dry piece of food that was bland and yet made his taste buds dance with joy.
Piper drew back a fraction and whispered. “Don’t let them see you eat.”
He nodded, and then turned her back around so that her spine was against the wall, and he faced away from the camera and the double-sided glass. “I missed you,” he growled, and then chewed.
She giggled. “I missed you too.” She leaned forward and whispered, “I’ve got more toast.”
They continued the dance that spun one way and then the other as Piper slipped an even bigger bit of toast in her mouth and he closed his mouth over hers.
“This could have been romantic,” he murmured between a couple of inconspicuous bites of his toast.
“Yeah, if we weren’t in a sterile room deep underground in the PDA’s facility, with cameras and Misha watching our every move.”
He swallowed and smiled. “Yeah, well there is that I suppose.”
“Still consider it romantic?” she asked.
“Baby, as long as you’re unharmed and I’m with you, nothing else matters.”
She pressed a hand to her belly, her expression suddenly serious. “And if I wasn’t a breeder?”
He frowned, before comprehension flooding him. “My feelings for you haven’t changed because I found out you were a breeder. I’ve always wanted you.”
“Or maybe your inner dragon wanted me because it recognized what I was.”
“My inner dragon doesn’t own me,” he said hoarsely, cupping her chin and drawing her stare back up. “What I want is the oddball woman with her dark hair and smart mouth that turns me on in ways my dragon couldn’t ever appreciate.”
She blinked up at him, and a slow smile lit up her face. “You have no idea how much I needed to hear that.”
The toast had given him barely enough calories to put one foot in front of the other, but a tsunami of adrenaline and passion gave him the strength he needed to lift her into his arms so that she was the one bending down and kissing him.
Misha cleared her throat. “I’d hate to break up the happy reunion—“
“Oh, you’re not breaking up anything.” Baron didn’t even look at the other woman; he was too busy drinking in his mate. “We’re staying together now.”
Piper’s eyes shone, before she said quietly. “Kiss me again, I have one last surprise I think you’ll appreciate.”
If it was another piece of toast he didn’t care, as long as he was kissing Piper. Except this time when his lips touched hers the food wasn’t dry toast, it was salty and crisp and quite unlike anything he’d ever tasted.
She pulled back with a smile, then edged the tip of her tongue out as though tasting the saltiness left behind. “You’ve just had your first hit of bacon.”
He looked down at her with awe. “If all I had left on this world was you, endless cappuccinos and bacon, I’d be a happy man.”
Piper grinned. “And I’d be a happy woman.”
A speaker somewhere in the room suddenly blew out tinny but concise orders.
“Piper, whatever the hell is going on in there, break it up now. Get the breeder to maternity. Soldiers will take the Riddich dragon to the secure room until his full moon shift is complete.”
Misha expelled a heavy breath before she faced the double-sided mirror and called out, “Yes, general. Of course.”
Every muscle in Baron’s body tensed as he turned to Misha. “Is this a joke?”
The hybrid shook her head. “No joke.” She stepped toward them and clasped Piper’s upper arm. But before she took his mate away, she said in an undertone, “I only allowed Piper to see you so that she could give you enough calories so you’d survive your next shift.”
So the general really hadn’t intended for them to be reunited. Rage pulsed through Baron and twisted his gut into knots, his stare blurring with flame. The general was evil with no morality or integrity. If not for his human skin the man could easily pass for a Tantonic.
Piper shivered, but her eyes didn’t widen on seeing his inner flames. Instead she rubbed her arms and glanced at the door. “Baron, something’s not right.”
An alarm suddenly blared. Baron knew exactly what Piper had sensed. Tantonics. And he had no doubt they were swarming the hillside looking for a way in ... if they hadn’t already found one.
The amulet had done its job.
The bright lights flicked off and then back on again. “Come on,” Misha hissed, opening the door. “This is your chance. “
The lights flicked back off and plunged everything into darkness.
The general shouted above the noise. “Scotty and Liam round up the engineers and get those generators working now! Everyone else assemble in the debrief room.”
Baron reached for Piper’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Even with his much better Riddich eyesight it was blacker than a tomb. And it just might become their tomb too if the Tantonics found a way inside.
But it’d also become their best means of escape. The PDA hadn’t intended letting them go. Baron only hoped the humans and aliens would be too occupied killing one another to notice their escape.
A little more strength flooded through his veins, but he refused to use the glow of his eye
s to help light the way. It’d use too much of his energy, and worse, it’d be a beacon to any scared and confused soldiers looking for someone to shoot.
“Take Misha’s hand so we stay together,” Baron instructed Piper.”
“Okay,” Piper said over the noise of the alarm and people’s shouts, her voice shaky yet somehow strong.
“Follow me,” Baron said close to her ear, adoring her so much he ached with it. But he had to repress all his feelings if he wanted them all to make it out of here alive. “I’ve memorized the way back to the elevator. Tell Misha she’ll have to hurry to keep up.”
Baron closed his eyes and focused, reversing everything in his head and using the same long-legged stride to ensure his steps repeated exactly. He was only grateful Piper and Misha kept pace.
A soldier ran into him at one point. Baron shoved the panicked man away and continued to stride along the twisted corridor, staying focused. Only once he’d counted out his steps and turns precisely did he stop. “We’re here.”
“And where is here exactly?” Misha asked.
“The elevator.”
Misha’s voice rose. “We can’t use it, not without the power.”
“That’s true,” he agreed. “But when the power returns, we’ll be here waiting and ready to get out of here.”
“A couple of bites of toast and half a rasher of bacon hasn’t given you the strength to fight off Tantonics,” Piper said over the sound of the shrieking alarm.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them away from you,” he said. “If I’m caught you’ll need to run, to hide. And keep doing that until I find you.”
“Unless they kill you,” Misha said flatly. “The kitchen is close to here. Let me go and find some food so that you can get your strength back and give you a fighting chance against those alien assholes.”
Baron smiled in the darkness. Who’d have thought Misha would turn out to be a friend? “As much as I appreciate your gesture, you’ll only lose your way—”