Unwelcome

by Annalise Alexis

  Only Jayla’s. Forever hers.

  The captain’s steps are anxious and hurried. They are starting to draw the attention of several of the more dominant species we pass. I will not tolerate him blowing our cover because he is too weak and spineless to perform under pressure. Reaching out, I grip his shoulder and hold him in place ten or so strides from the Skellians. They are a barbaric race unaccustomed to human emotion and will not tolerate the scent of male fear. If their leaders were present, they would slaughter him out of annoyance. Judging by the way they all openly show interest in the female, they are all of equal rank. Similar to Illusian males, the most dominant has first choice of any female he desires.

  “Steel your spine or I will rip it from your worthless body.” The captain’s jaw ticks at my threat. Good. Anger might actually mask the piss ripe scent of fear pouring off of him.

  Ragar looses a low growl, drawing my attention from the captain’s flushed face. I follow his gaze, now black with fury, to a well-dressed human male escorting a Gemmian female on his arm. There are six armed guards covering him on all sides. He walks with confidence despite his mediocre build. Even amongst those with elevated intelligence, strength, and cunning, he reeks of self-indulgent superiority. My eyes narrow on the Gemmian female as she turns her head to speak to the male. She wears a brand—barely visible beneath her hair— burned into her skin. Identical to Injari’s.

  He needs to die. And I am going to be the one to do it.

  “Him,” I whisper so only the captain and Ragar hear. The human turns toward the target, making no effort to disguise his movements. So untrained and sloppy, it is a miracle he has not had his meager existence snuffed out by a male less lenient than I.

  “That piece of shit. I’m gonna kill him.” The captain lurches forward with a puffed chest, and I clench his shoulder, forcing him to stay in place. Ragar has been patient and very considerate of my desire for knowledge before seeking revenge. It would be a great disrespect for the human to draw first blood. He continues to fight against me. Futile but intriguing all the same. Ragar cocks a brow. No longer amused, I paralyze the human. The anger in his gaze is respectable. It seems something has finally drawn him out.

  “You know that male?” I release his voice so he may answer.

  “Yeah, I know him. He was the supervisor I reported to when I blew the whistle on the smugglers. He looked me in my face when I begged him to monitor the ports for my Jordie and he gave his word he would. His word.”

  Ragar’s gaze cuts to the male, then to mine. Acting quickly, he wraps his arm around the captain’s immobilized shoulders and drags him out of sight.

  I want the chance to look this garbage in the face before I slit his throat and bathe in his blood.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Jayla

  I just stepped in someone’s piss. Or at least, I think I did. Shoved together like cattle, we’re herded down a narrow hall and through a set of double doors. No palm scanners. No facial recognition software. This whole place is manually locked? I guess that makes sense. AI can’t be initiated without notifying the UCom command previously responsible for monitoring its function.

  Things just got even more complicated.

  At the end of the passage, the group is forced to split in two. Fighting against the grain, I veer to the right, letting the hands on my shoulders guide me. But then, they disappear and she’s at my side. Deep violet eyes, so dark they resemble the familiar void of Ren’s, peer at me through long lashes. Her hair falls in golden waves down her back, and even unwashed, she looks like she belongs in heaven, not in the depths of this flesh-pedaling hell. Her face is bruised, her lip split, but I see no bites or visible hand prints. She was spared the horror of experiencing a frenzied Inokine.

  Small miracles…

  The sounds of bare feet on metal echo down the hall, masking my voice. “Where are the others?” I whisper. “I’m Jayla, I came here to help.”

  Her eyes widen a fraction then focus straight ahead. “You speak Illusian?”

  “Yes, your Acia sent me here to find you. Well, I sent myself, but he agreed. He’s here as well, with Ragar.”

  She lets out a light chuckle, whispering something inaudible under her breath.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you,” I say, dodging the elbow of a purple scaled female to my right, then tumbling forward a step trying to get my footing. Luckily, we’re smashed so close together there isn’t enough room for me to get trampled.

  “I am called Linara.” She wipes her nose with her shoulder, trying to conceal a brief sniff of my hair. “I can smell him on you. I thought I was dreaming. He always has been a determined male.”

  “He’s never stopped searching for you. None of us have. So, you know him?”

  “We were very close once.” A small smile curls the edges of her lips.

  An odd twinge of jealousy rises at the fondness in her tone. It doesn’t sit well with me. I resist the urge to contact Ren. After his last little intrusion, I’ve been careful to keep a lid on my emotions, trying not to draw his attention. He’s still there, monitoring me for pain, fear—anything of concern. But not actively digging around. I’ve got to keep him from killing everything long enough to find the rest of the females.

  Coming to a stop, the group sandwiches together as the guard up front orders us to hold. “Enough with the moaning and crying! Listen up!” He scans the group with a sneer. “It’s time to shower and present for pricing. Don’t be stupid and fight the maids inside, they don’t put up with any shit and no, they don’t care. You are to form an orderly line. Half the group will be placed in the holding cells with the other stock while the other half gets cleaned up, dressed, and priced. You aren’t going home, so just fucking get used to it. Once the first group is finished, they’ll switch with the second. Anyone who resists gets beaten.”

  We file out of the small hallways into an open room. There are two large cages to the right and five open showers to the left. All full of females in various states of dress. The maids are…terrifying. Their thick, slimy skin looks wet under the halogen bulbs shining down from the rafters above. Stringy black hair and black eyes… they’re something out of a nightmare.

  Tell me this isn’t real life.

  “You to the left, you to the right.” The guard shoves every other female in the same direction. Noticing the pattern, I slip back a spot, hoping to stay with Linara. The girl in front of me turns and begins trying to fight her way toward the back of the line.

  “Calm down, you’re going to get yourself killed,” I whisper, trying to reason with her. It’s like she doesn’t even register my existence. I yank on her arms, trying to get her to turn around, but she refuses to listen. Ducking at the sight of a shadow rushing toward my face, I startle as loud smack silences her noisy outburst and her body sags to the ground.

  The Mageran I noticed from the front of the line when I first entered the room throws the limp female over her shoulder and gets back in line. “Sorry, but she was losin’ her tits and would have gotten us all beaten. Or worse, raped into submission. I didn’t smack her that hard, she’ll wake up by the time she hits the shower.”

  “Eh, thanks,” I say, getting back in line just as the guard’s face comes into view. Linara glances back, silently counting the people between us. Seems she has the same idea as I do. Twenty more girls are sorted, and Linara is sent to the pens. Three more and my number is up.

  “Right.”

  I sigh in relief and drag myself to the front of the two enclosures. A guard shoves me forward and I search for Linara. I can’t see her through the wall of females clutching the wires of the cage. My breath catches in my throat. Which one do I choose?

  Screw it. I’m thrown forward as I try to enter the first cage when the soldier in charge of the door slams it closed before I’m fully in. The dull thrum of pain already pulsing in my heel breaks into an all-out scream.

  Dick.

  I nearly cry as Linara’s warm hands wrap aro
und mine, easing me to my feet. “That was uncalled for. Are you all right, Jayla?” she asks, brows furrowed in concern.

  “This whole damn thing is uncalled for.” I rub my heel with my hand. “But yeah. I’m fine.”

  The guard outside the door glares at me. “No talking.”

  Linara gives a subtle nod toward the back of the cage. A hollow ball of misery forms in the pit of my stomach as I push my way through the sweaty, beaten bodies. The women are bloody and bruised, and their clothes are torn to shreds. How anyone could be okay with doing this to another living being? It’s incomprehensible.

  The heaviness weighing down my soul lightens at the sight of not one but seven sets of Illusian eyes huddled together in the corner of the cage. My knees give out, and I sink to the floor. We’ve found them. I’ve found them. Everything is finally going to be okay.

  But wait, all the females here are young, no older than thirty. Where is Ren’s mom?

  Ren

  The pulsing rhythm of the carotid in his neck teases me, reminding me of the blood still coursing through him. He dips low, greeting a silver haired Gemmian male who returns the gesture. The female presses closer to him, away from the older male, shying away from the attention. The human laughs and shakes her off, shoving her toward the Gemmian.

  The room sharpens, comes into focus as my pupils dilate, preparing me for battle. Iron and fury hang in the air around me as my barbs imbed in my palms. The female’s tear-filled gaze roams the room, desperately searching for someone to save her.

  I calm her mind, soothing her distress. Do not fear, female. Any male willing to take what should only be given deserves death.

  She nods, understanding the fury of my gaze. A tingle of anticipation spreads down my spine. So close.

  I lean against the wall. Let my shoulders sag in a show of relaxation. Rolling my neck, releasing the tension, I wait. Drawing in my prey. A light-haired, red-skinned male wearing makeshift armor ambles forward, leaning on the wall beside me. He is tasked with guarding the human. What a piss poor excuse for protection. This will be easier than I anticipated.

  The red-skinned male’s gaze runs the length of my body, and he inches further away.

  “I don’t reckon you speak Meta, do ya?” the red-skinned male asks, picking his teeth. I stay my gaze, giving him no attention. As expected, he continues to talk, blathering on. A common trait in inferior males, enjoying the sound of their own voices. There is no honor in narcissism.

  “Ah, hell. Look at him.” He nods toward his human charge. “Fluffing his feathers like a damn show bird. If it weren’t for the money, I’d kill him myself, prissy little shit.” He spits, then sucks his teeth. “Haun do this, Haun do that. I swear he can’t wipe his ass unless it’s with silver fuckin’ compost squares.”

  The red-skinned male grins at my ruse of aloofness, then snorts. “I wonder what kind of sweet pussy you’re going to snag tonight. I’d be easier on ‘er than you. Wish I could afford one, but this shit assignment ain’t got no perks. No discount, nothing.” He leans forward, jerking his chin to signal the all clear before his charge advances to engage the next group of buyers. “He loves to act like this shit is all his idea, but he’s just a fuckin’ front. No way he could organize all this.”

  Finally, something of use to justify my restraint. He lowers his gun, relaxing further.

  “I bet you got a monster cock. My ole’ lady ain’t complaining or nothing, but I bet you got balls the size of boulders. I feel bad for the next fucker to buy your slags after you tire of them. I saw the vid footage of that sweet little brunette you brought in. Boss was real pleased to add another human to the stock. Too bad she’s probably worn the fu—”

  His pupils dilate as I rip his mind in half, and he sags to the floor. I shove my hands into my pockets, fighting the urge to rake them across his filthy mouth and cut out his tongue. Speaking of my mate in such a foul way. Degrading her worth, her temple of a body. Rage bubbles up, and I fight to suppress a growl. To suppress my need to split open his skull with my bare hands. Digging into what is left of his mind before it turns to mush, I filter through his memories, taking what I need.

  Remaining mostly unnoticed, I claim an open spot several strides away from the limp male and rest against it, busying my hands with a discarded nail I retrieved from the floor.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Jayla

  Seven sets of frightened, wild, lavender eyes. I almost can’t believe what I’m seeing. I always hoped we would find the stolen females from Xen’s group, but the longer they stayed in captivity, the smaller that hope became. My heart sinks. Lavender eyes. Not crimson.

  Injari’s beloved Keeper did not make it.

  “Your Keeper…”

  Linara chin lifts a fraction and hardens her features. “Zira died fighting for us. It was a good death.”

  “We heard how badass she was from Injari and Urina. Both of them were recovered from an Inokine ship that laid waste to my station. The Illusian males slaughtered the Inokine.

  Linara sighs in relief. “We were concerned for their safety. Those two… they sacrificed much for us. To protect us. They were not allowed to join us no matter how hard we fought to get them back. I tried to keep us together.”

  I squeeze her wrist, trying to comfort her.

  “You did—you kept them together. You’re here, and now we’re going to escape. I swear I won’t let them sell you.”

  A low growl rips my attention from Linara to a skinny dark blond Illusian female.

  “But you are here. How can you make such promises? We have been through enough. Do not give us empty hope. We cannot bear to lose anything else.”

  “The Acia and his second are here. Right outside this room. He ca—”

  Her tone rises, “Yes, and we are in here. What use are you? You are not Illusian. You cannot receive through the bond, and we are unable to hear him after they injected us with that poison. Why tease us with your presence when there is so little you can do?”

  Linara hisses through tight lips, “Watch your mouth, Osa. This female has put her life on the line to find us. You will speak to her with respect.”

  “She pretends to know our suffering, Asha, and yet, she does not!”

  “I can access the bond,” I blurt out.

  Linara tenses, and her jaw ticks. “Be careful with your words, human. You speak of things you cannot possibly do.”

  “I’m not lying. I got it when I mated with Ren. I inherited the gift.”

  Linara’s eyes widen, her face aghast. “He has chosen in our absence?”

  Almost as if I can feel her glare, the female beside Osa purses her lips and looks down her nose at me. She reminds me of Illaria. I swear they could be sisters. “She lies, Asha. He would not have chosen a human.”

  “And if he has? You would disrespect your Aciana in such a way?” I hear from a soft voice in the corner.

  Pursed lip girl glares at me. “We need not concern ourselves with what ifs, Jairi. You have seen how ruthless the Acia is. He would not allow his mate to be disrespected.”

  My eyes narrow. “So you’re just going to talk about me like I’m not here?”

  She snorts. “Obviously.”

  A petite golden-haired female, no more than seventeen, raises her head off Osa’s lap to look at me. “You are our Aciana?”

  Linara shakes her head. “She cannot be. The Acia would not risk his mate in such a way. Your lies reveal you, human.” Linara flares her nostrils and cocks her head. The fire in her gaze sends chills down my spine. Remind me not to piss her off again.

  “I swear. Look, what do I have to do to prove it? The auction is in like twenty minutes, and I can’t do this without you. Tell me what you need to trust me.”

  “His lineage. If you can do the things you say, access the bond and ask the Acia to list his male predecessors, those who have influenced his rule.” Linara’s features harden. She doesn’t believe me. None of them do. Even the little one on Osa’s lap l
ies back down.

  “Okay. How many do you want?” I ask, looking at the group.

  A sneer pulls at Osa’s lips. “Stop wasting time, human. Two will suffice.”

  The loud clang of the cage door slamming shut startles me. The Mageran female who spit at the guards picks herself up off her hands and knees where she landed after being thrown in. It appears she’s putting up a decent fight.

  I squeeze my lids shut in concentration. If we’re going to get out of here alive, they have to trust me. The warmth of our bond calls to me. Following its cord, I weave my way down the connection into Ren’s mind, fighting through the sea of anger and rage boiling inside. He’s dangerously close to losing it. Maybe this will make things easier.

  “Don’t kill anyone. Not yet,” I say, hoping to knock him out of the violence filled string of thoughts commanding his attention. Who knew there were so many ways to kill someone with a rusty nail?

  “Skara,” he says, voice laced with surprise and panic. “What did they do?”

  “I’ve found them. The females, or at least several of them. I haven’t seen your Life Giver but I’m going to keep searching, I swear if she’s here, I’ll find her.”

  “I have no doubts, my Aciana. Where are you?”

  “In a pen with the other females, waiting to be priced. I’m so ready to get out of here.”

  The anger swirling around in his mind flares. “These people, this place. It needs to burn to the ground.”

  “Kind of hard to do in space…”

  “I see even in times of distress, you find laughter. You are a beguiling creature.”

  “That’s sweet and all, but I need your help. The females don’t trust me. They asked me to connect with you as a test.”