Warm water cascades over my aching muscles as I stand under the showerhead. Closing my eyes, I tip my face up, welcoming the warmth as it flows over my skin. I wish my thoughts were as warm, but they are cold and harsh. I’ve purposely pushed Kylie’s betrayal aside the last few hours, but, now, in solitude, I can think of nothing but how my best friend sold me out. The pain in my heart is savage, brutal, threatening to pull me under. I’ve been besties with Kylie for years. I’ve told her things I’ve told no one else. I’ve confided everything in her these last few months, and she passed that intel on to the government.
Why?
Why did she do this to me?
Did she know they were gonna take me here? Lock me up and use me for God knows what?
I recall her words, and she did know they were going to take me here. She mentioned her brother and that they threatened to take him, so I guess she had to make a choice between me getting locked up or Daniel. Family was stronger than friendship, and I can’t really criticize her for that. But, she knows who I am and what I’m capable of. What gifts and talents the guys have. If she’d confided in me, we could’ve kept her and Daniel safe and avoided all this.
But I guess she didn’t trust me enough to confide in me.
And that hurts even more than her betrayal.
A loud rap on the bathroom door pulls me out of my mind. “Get dressed, Tori,” the guard says. “The director wants to meet with you in twenty minutes.”
I turn off the shower and get dressed in gray pants, a plain white shirt, and gray sneakers. Scooping up my damp hair, I arrange it in one thick plait falling down my back. When I step into the bedroom, the asshole guard is waiting for me.
His eyes rake me from head to toe in a slow perusal, his touch lingering on my chest, and I shift uncomfortably on my feet. If he lays one finger on me, I’ll fucking maim him with my supertouch, consequences be damned. I challenge him with a look, daring him to try it. I growl out a warning, and he throws back his head, laughing again.
“I’ll put you out of your misery, Princess.” He leans in close to me, nostrils flaring and a look of disgust on his face. “You might be pretty to look at, but I wouldn’t touch you if the fate of humanity rested on it. You’re all alien scum. Fucking freaks.”
“Good,” I retort. “You’d do well to remember that.”
He guffaws again, and I seriously want to punch him in the nuts. “You’ll soon lose that high and mighty attitude. In here, you’re nothing but a pawn in a political game that’s way over your head.”
What the heck does that mean? “Is that so?” I say, smirking and playing along.
He pushes me out of the room, closing the door behind him. “Yep, and if you think this is rough, wait till you see what they have in store for you.”
Although I suspect he’s saying it to rile me up, bile swims up my throat at his ominous comment. “Why don’t you enlighten me then?” I suggest, working hard to keep my tone deliberately unaffected.
“Nope,” he says, popping the P. “There’s no fun in that. I can’t wait to see the look on your face when you figure it all out.”
He leads me into a control room of sorts. Tons of men and women in starched uniforms sit behind desks, with headphones on, either engrossed in their screen or talking in muted tones to colleagues. Several heads turn in my direction as we walk through the open space. I hold my head up high, ignoring the rude stares and loud whispers. The guard opens a door and nudges me inside a small meeting room.
Dr. Lanter is seated alongside Sergeant Green around a circular walnut-topped table. A man with pinched features and short, thick gray hair sits opposite them, eyeing me circumspectly as I enter the room. He stands and comes close. “I’m Special Director John Tanner, head of this facility.” He gestures toward the table. “Have a seat, Alinthia.”
“How do you know my name?” I ask, sliding into the seat alongside him. The asshole guard joins another guard, and they stand watch on both sides of the door.
“We know everything there is to know about you, Alinthia,” he replies matter-of-factly. His hazel eyes are sterile and lacking warmth. I swallow the sudden nervous lump in my throat, silently cautioning myself to keep a grip. “We know you are the last surviving Nantor princess, the subject of the galactical prophecy, and the supposed savior of the galaxy.”
I sit up straighter in my chair, eyeballing him. “How do you know all this, and what do you want with me?”
He glances behind me briefly. “I think there is someone who can explain all this more clearly.” He stands up, and I slowly turn around in my seat.
All the blood leaches from my face as I watch the tall, imposing man enter the room. His white-blond hair is longer than the last time I saw him, and his green eyes are twinkling with mirth. Zorc isn’t wearing any strange alien jumpsuit this time either. He’s wearing US Army military fatigues like he was born to wear them. My fuddled mind struggles to understand.
He chuckles, and I want to claw his eyes out with my fingernails.
“You, you … traitor! You betrayed us!”
A proud grin spreads across his lips, and he has the nerve to look smug. Hot fiery tremors scorch a path through my body, igniting my power and fueling my anger. All my previous resolutions fly out the window as red-hot anger sweeps through me. Balls of fire erupt from the tips of my fingers, and I emit a frustrated cry of rage as I lunge at him.
CHAPTER 3
Cooper
I come to, groaning as several of my senses are assaulted at once. A putrid, decaying smell tickles my nostrils, and I’d probably puke if I was human and capable of vomiting. Moans, cries, and screams filter into the room from somewhere outside. Shivers tiptoe up my spine as a blast of cold air sweeps over me, and my arms ache like a bitch. A dull pounding in my head and pain burning at the back of my eyes make seeing difficult, but I push through my discomfort, forcing myself back to consciousness.
Slowly, my vision clears, and my surroundings come into focus.
“Mad Dog and Beck are still unconscious,” Dane says into my mind.
“Where are we, and how the fuck did we get here?” The last thing I remember is being ambushed by Alandra and a bunch of goons outside Kylie’s house. I put up the mother of all fights, but I was outnumbered, and they had the element of surprise. It’s embarrassing how easily they overpowered me after that.
My head spins around, my eyes scanning the small cell. The walls are exposed stone, and the floors are coarse black slate. It’s dirty, cold, and unforgiving under my butt. There is little natural light in the room, the only glimmer of brightness trickling in through a small, open window above my head.
Beck, Maddox, and Dane are all stripped to their boxers, arms elevated, and wrists bound together, chained to the stone wall. I look down at myself, confirming I’m in the same predicament. “Where’s Alinthia?” The connection that bonds my brothers and I to our girl thrashes anxiously about, trying and failing to locate our missing piece. “Where is she, Dane?”
“It’s not good, Coop, and it’s all my fault.” Dane’s pained eyes meet mine, and his remorse and frustration power through the bond.
“Quit with the self-blame, and just tell me what the fuck is going on!”
“We were back at the house, and I’d decided to go and talk to Alinthia when I realized I couldn’t see either of you,” Dane starts explaining. “When we got to Kylie’s house, you were gone and so was Alinthia. Kylie’s front door was all busted in, and her brother was freaking out. Then I located both of you. You were unconscious and bloody in the back of one van, and Alinthia was …” His breath oozes out in shuddering spurts, and pure torment is etched across his face. I think my brother might actually cry.
“What, Dane? Where is she?”
“The government has her and Kylie. They took her, Coop.”
“What!” I scream in my head, thrashing about in frustration. Pain rips up my arms and I cry out, unable to stop my vocal cords in time.
“The cu
ffs are made from Tianore,” Dane confirms my suspicions. “We are well and truly screwed. I don’t know how the hell we’ll get out of this.”
“What do you mean the government has her?” I ask, ignoring our own plight and the lingering pain. “How? How could they have her? How did this happen?”
Worry lines crease his brow. “Mad Dog thinks the strange dude she noticed around town was a government operative. Who knows how long he was watching her, watching us, and how much he knows.”
“Fucckkk!!!” I thrash about again, biting my lip and drawing blood to restrain myself from crying out this time. “We have to get out of here! We need to go to her. She’ll be counting on us to rescue her.”
“You think I don’t fucking know that!” he hisses in my mind. “We were going to get you and then form a plan to infiltrate whatever government compound they have her in and rescue her. But that’s all shot to hell now.” I know my brother. He’d be dragging his hands through his hair right now if he could. “It was a trap, and they were lying in wait for us— Alandra, Zorc, and a bunch of Arantu’s men.”
“What the actual fuck?”
“Let me show you,” Beck says, alerting us to the fact he’s now conscious. He tries to project into my mind, but it’s flickering in and out. “Damn it. My ability is still blocked, and I can’t access the memories in my mind. That means I can only project current stuff between us for now.”
I test my own ability, and sure enough, my superhearing isn’t working either. Whatever force is hampering our unique gifts is obviously still at work.
Dane explains everything to me telepathically. How Alandra was somehow able to shape shift, to impersonate Alinthia and pretend to be her sister, without any of Beck’s systems or tests detecting the subterfuge. A growl emits from the back of my throat at mention of Zorc’s betrayal.
“What a fucking asshole. Knew there was a reason I didn’t like him.”
“I’m second-guessing everything we know now. Everything we’ve been told. It’s clear we’ve been played, and who knows for how long.” Tension is evident on Dane’s face, and I know he’s blaming himself for all this, but I won’t offer up false platitudes, and, besides, there’s no point crying over something that has already happened. We need to focus on the here and now. Focus on finding a way out of this place.
“Where are we?” I ask.
“Not sure. They knocked us out before transporting us. I woke up in here a few minutes before you did. Your guess is as good as mine,” Dane says.
“We’re in Xzanthar, in Arantu’s guest quarters, I presume,” Maddox says, finally joining the party. He attempts to stretch out his legs, and his body twists, bringing his wrists into contact with the cuffs. His body contorts in pain, and a string of expletives leave his lips. “Fucking Tianore,” he grunts, having additional reasons to hate the poison which weakens our kind.
When we were cadets in training in the APGP, he was subjected to Tianore testing as punishment for punching this asshole who had been badmouthing Alinthia. To this day, any mention of Tianore brings a host of unpleasant memories to the surface, so I sympathize with my brother. This is shit for all of us but especially for Maddox. “And what the hell is that godawful smell?”
“That would be the rotting corpse in the corner,” Dane says, flicking his gaze to the crumpled heap of bones I’m only now noticing.
The sound of a key turning in the lock diverts our attention instantly, and we’re all immediately on guard.
Alandra steps into the cell with a servant girl at her side. At least she no longer looks like my love. Having to watch Alandra masquerade in Alinthia’s form back on Earth nearly killed me. Especially after she tricked me into a blowjob in the woods. My blood still boils every time I think of how much of an idiot I was. How stupid I was to fall for the charade. As long as I live, I’ll never forgive myself for it.
Alandra drinks in the scene, licking her lips as she casts hungry eyes over each one of us in turn. Blood turns to ice in my veins as I think of all the ways this can go south very fast.
She bends down in front of Dane, gripping his face with her thumb and forefinger. “Hey, sexy.” Her eyes trail over his abs and down lower. “You look every bit as good semi-naked as I imagined you would.”
“Screw you,” Dane snaps.
“That’s the plan, baby,” she purrs, sliding her hands from his face and running them down over his torso.
“Get your fucking hands off me,” Dane growls, his frustration and fury trundling through our connection.
Without hesitation, she slaps him firmly across the face. “Don’t you dare speak to me like that.” Lowering her hand farther, she pierces him with a look that is evil incarnate. “You belong to me now.” Her hand covers his cock through his boxers, and I’m sickened on his behalf. “You all do.” She casts a quick glance over her shoulder at Beck and Maddox before lingering on me. “And I can do with you as I please.” She starts stroking Dane’s crotch, rubbing her hand up and down, smirking as his body responds naturally, his cock growing hard. The torment on his face is plain for everyone to see. He flails about, trying to loosen her hold on him, but it’s no use, and all he’s doing is inflicting pain via the bands and sapping his strength.
Gripping his shoulders, she pushes him back against the stone wall. “Stop fighting this. You know, you could all be here for quite some time, and it doesn’t have to be like this.” She glances over her shoulder at us again. “You have choices.”
“Really?” Maddox spits out. “Somehow I don’t think we’ll like your choices that much.”
She moves away from Dane, and he visibly exhales, but we still trade concerned looks. Crouching down in front of Maddox, she drags her nails up and down his bare chest. He doesn’t even flinch, even though his anger filters through to all of us. He stares her down, and she laughs. “You’re feisty. I like that in a man.” She cups his junk too. “Impressive. I like that even more.”
Maddox growls, starting to lose his cool composure. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Beck shaking in alarm. My protective instincts kick into gear, and I want to keep the bitch away from him at all costs. I doubt anyone has touched his junk except for his own hand, and I’d like to keep it that way. “Stop fucking around, Alandra,” I hiss. “And say what you came to say.”
Her head whips around to mine, and a malevolent grin spreads across her mouth. She saunters toward me, her eyes darkening with every step. I brace myself for it. “Stand up,” she demands, kicking at my feet with the toe of her shoe.
It takes enormous effort to climb to my feet, and I want to tell her to fuck off, but I’m cooperating purely to deflect attention from Beck. “Happy?” I snap, once I’m standing awkwardly, with my arms contorted at weird angles in the chains.
She drops to her knees, at eye level with my cock, and I swallow the bile flooding my mouth. “This is how you like me best, isn’t it, Coop?”
When I don’t answer, she grabs hold of my dick, squeezing. “Tell me how much you liked it, and don’t lie, because I’ll know.”
“I hate you,” I coolly reply. “And it makes me sick every time I think of it. You disgust me. And is that the only way you can get a guy? By pretending to be the woman he loves? You’re pathetic.”
“Coop,” Dane cautions me in my head, but I’m done with this. I can’t pretend otherwise.
Alandra’s flirty demeanor falters, and her nostrils flare as she narrows her eyes to slits. She stretches to full height and thrusts her fist in my stomach, punching me full force and instantly winding me.
“What the hell are you doing?” Zorc says, arriving into the room.
“Explaining a few things to the prisoners,” she retorts, while still glaring at me.
“I’ll bet.” He sends her a knowing look. “Leave us. I only have a few minutes, and there are certain things I need to discuss with Alinthia’s protectors.”
“Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of me.” She spins around, no doubt glaring
at Zorc now.
He grabs her arm forcefully, putting his face right into hers. “Need I remind you of what your father said?” She attempts to wriggle out of his grip, but he holds her more firmly. “I’m the one who brokered this deal, and I’m the one who will manage it to completion. Fuck around with them if you want, but that’s the extent of it, Alandra. I’m warning you.”
“I don’t care what rules Daddy has laid down. He still wouldn’t want you talking disrespectfully to me. I’m his only heir and right-hand woman. You need to learn your place.” She successfully extracts herself from his hold.
“And you need to learn yours.” Zorc grabs hold of her waist, pulling her into him, and we’re forced to watch as he grinds his pelvis into her. “Your place is underneath me, in every sense of the word.” He swats her butt, and she emits a menacing growl as she tries to shove him away. “Don’t test me, sweetheart. You won’t like it.”
“Let go of me!” She pushes him away, and he laughs. “And find some other bed to sleep in. We’re done.”
He laughs again, slanting her an amused grin. “We’re done when I say we’re done. Now get out of here before I make you.”
Surprisingly, she leaves, but not before flipping him the bird. Her comfort with human mannerisms indicates she was on Earth for more than a few fleeting weeks, and that realization doesn’t give me a warm and cozy feeling.
“Now,” Zorc says, rubbing his hands gleefully. “Where were we?”
“The minute I’m free, I’m going to kick your ass from one side of the galaxy to the other,” Maddox promises.
“I wouldn’t be too hasty, Manzar, and you really need to learn to control that temper of yours,” Zorc projects into all our minds.
“Why are you here?” Dane asks, already out of patience.
“I have an update on Alinthia, and I thought you’d like to know.”
I gulp over the messy ball of emotion in my throat. “Where is she? Is she okay?”
“She’s in a classified, secret, underground government compound. A place that doesn’t exist in any official records. It’s where they take all the foreign species they’ve rounded up on Earth.”
The Warrior Princess: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance (Alinthia Book 3) Page 2