by Sara Fields
“Why do you think there’s life in the city though? Just a suspicion wouldn’t bring you all the way here, Commander Nix,” Roan replied, his voice steady and calm. I’d always admired him for being able to keep his emotions at bay. If it were me, I would have punched Nix in the nose already. I grinned just thinking about it.
“Distinctive heat signatures on the streets here. There are humans there, I’m telling you and I want them captured. Ever since the explosion, I’ve been monitoring the area myself and picked up evidence that specifically suggests human body temperatures. I can’t say if Vakarrans are there, you know the tech doesn’t pick our signatures for whatever reason. Xandaar, you probably know, why is that again?”
I caught Xandaar rolling his eyes as he turned, well behind the commander.
“Our skin is twice the thickness as that of a human’s. The multiple layers function as a sort of shield and our heat-sensitive satellites have never been able to pick up on our movements,” Xandaar replied.
“I knew it was something to do with some boring scientific fact,” Nix replied and Xandaar glared at the back of his head.
“So, what do you want us to do?” Roan said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“As the highest-ranking battalion here, I want you to infiltrate the abandoned human city and find them. Bring whoever you need. I’ll call for reinforcements to arrive before the mission sets out,” Nix replied arrogantly.
“We’ll find them, Commander,” Roan replied, and I eyed the knife on the table. I yearned to slash the bastard’s throat and just be free of him, once and for all, but Taraik placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from completing my task.
Nix made me angry. Sometimes so much so that I found it hard to control.
I turned away, taking a step behind Taraik then. Killing Nix now wouldn’t solve anything, and it would cause more questions to crop up than ever. I told myself that even if I took him down, another just like him would just take his place. That’s just how it was.
The power structure in our Vakarran military was wrought with nepotism, unfair promotions, and greed. It was possible to rise through society with hard work and achievement, but it was becoming more and more rare. My comrades and I had proven ourselves in war and invasions, an integral part of the reason for conquering planets far outside the Earthen solar system. The First and Second Battalions had been like us. Comrades in battle.
We’d all risen based on our own hard-earned merit, unlike Nix.
I tried to ignore the rest of the conversation, which involved intense mission planning and evaluation of old street images they’d input into the network. I once again admired Roan for his ability to keep a level head. He was a hard-ass sometimes, but he was a good leader. I’d follow him anywhere.
Some sort of commotion sounded outside of the officer’s tent and I lifted my head, furrowing my brow in confusion. Some Vakarran I vaguely recalled as Taazar ran in with a grin on his face.
“Commander Nix,” he said with a bow, waiting for permission to speak.
“Why are you interrupting us?” Nix asked, clearly annoyed, sneering up at the low-ranked officer. Commander Nix was volatile and we all knew it. He took rank extremely seriously and if he felt disrespected, he’d react with violence.
“Important intel, Commander. A group of Vakarrans patrolling the outer limits captured a human female. She’s a pretty one and we all thought you should know right away,” Taazar replied, careful to keep his head bowed and eyes on the ground.
Nix grinned, his expression darkening and at once, I began to have a sick feeling in my stomach. Roan’s eyes flashed to mine and at once, he screamed “Go,” to me in my head. I knew what he wanted, and I casually exited the tent then, before rushing back to our own.
Much to my horror, it was empty. I looked everywhere but she was nowhere to be found. Danika was gone.
“Fuck,” I yelled out loud.
I ran back to the officer’s tent and found it empty too. I knew something bad was about to happen. Nix wouldn’t let this go. It was the perfect opportunity for him to publicly assert his power and provide an example to all the human women there of what would happened if they disobeyed Vakarran law.
Especially with the advent of their upcoming shipment to members of Vakarran high society, or the breeding colonies.
Women everywhere were being funneled to the big tent at the center of the camp. Vakarrans whipped at the backs and asses of human females, herding them inside as quickly as possible.
The blood in my veins chilled and I moved toward the tent. Time seemed to slow as I reached the entrance, looking up at the central stage. My heart stuck in my throat.
Danika.
Her head hung to the side, her limbs limp. They’d bound her to the punishment poles, each wrist strung up on opposite sides just above shoulder height. Her legs remained free, but slumped as she was, she was putting far more weight on her wrists than her feet. Even from here, I knew the metal cuffs were going to leave marks on her skin.
My chest rose and fell, the fury just barely contained.
Hands grabbed at my arms and I tried to whip around to fight, only to realize it was Taraik and Xandaar.
“Keep calm,” Xandaar said.
I nearly growled at him.
“Take a breath. Nix wants us on stage with him,” Taraik added.
I turned to him and I saw him staring at her. Saw her betrayal and the hurt written all over his face. She’d run from us. Wanted to escape despite the kindness we’d shown her.
When we finally got our hands on her again, she was going to have to explain herself. Especially to Taraik.
I took a deep breath. Letting my anger loose now wouldn’t save her. I had to be smart. We had to come up with a plan but there was no time.
Roan and Nix walked up behind us and Taraik and Xandaar pounded my back as though we were congratulating each other on a job well done. Nix said nothing as we pulled apart and took our places behind him.
All four of us followed Nix.
“Hold, men,” Roan commanded.
All four of us wanted him to drop dead.
“Wait for my word,” Roan then said.
If Nix fucking laid a hand on her, I was going to kill him myself.
Chapter Eleven
Danika
I groaned. My entire body felt like it had been thrown in a meat grinder. My muscles were achy and sore, and it felt like I was bruised all over. I stretched, but then I realized my hands were bound. What the hell? Groggily, I struggled to open my eyes, trying to figure out what had happened and where I was now. My pained flesh struggled to do my bidding and as the seconds passed, I slowly began to get a handle on my body.
Finally, I had a moment of clarity. I remembered everything, and I almost lost it. Fuck. I’d been captured. I hadn’t been able to escape and warn Kaela. It all came flooding back. My escape, the running, and the tranquilizer dart stabbing into my thigh. When I finally succeeded in lifting the lids of my eyes, I nearly screamed out loud. Instead, I swallowed my cry of terror and whimpered quietly.
To either side of me was two tall poles and I was cuffed to each of them with a pair of harsh metal cuffs. My wrists screamed with pain and I guessed that I had been putting all my weight on them. When I pushed my bare feet to the wood beneath me, I yelped as blood rushed to my fingers, pins and needles prickling underneath my skin. It hurt, and it hurt a lot.
I lifted my head and that’s when I realized that I was naked. On display. What looked like hundreds of human women watched from the audience, Vakarrans lining the aisles. Holy shit. This was bad.
In the center, a group of five of them was walking toward me. Immediately, I recognized my four captors, along with one strange Vakarran male who I hadn’t seen before.
I met Taraik’s eyes first, and the restrained hurt, betrayal, and fear there broke my heart. I wanted to scream that it wasn’t what he thought, that I had needed to warn my sister, that she had to run, that I had to keep her s
afe. I wanted to tell them that I hadn’t wanted to leave them, that I hadn’t had a choice. I wanted to tell them everything.
Zac looked pissed. His angry eyes met mine and flickered back toward the stranger in front, like he wanted to kill him.
Xandaar looked incredibly guarded. He met my eyes and just shook his head, his sadness and disappointment obvious in his stance.
Roan’s eyes were calm.
I wanted to scream. I was terrified.
My gaze finally settled on the only one I didn’t recognize. It didn’t take long for me to conclude that he was the feared Commander Nix. The women on either side of the aisle shrank away. Apparently, his reputation preceded him. My lips rolled up in a sneer. Fucking asshole.
His grin widened when he saw my face. His teeth were a grayish white color, darkened with plaque in between each tooth. His lips were darker, almost black, giving him a sinister expression regardless of whether or not he was smiling. His eyes reminded me of a black hole, with a slight copper tone that flashed with danger.
He was big, tall just like most Vakarrans I’d seen, but I knew his chest wasn’t hard with muscles like my Vakarrans were. He looked thick and well-fed, overweight for a Vakarran. His horns were slightly different than Roan’s or the others, in that they were round like a ram’s, but pointed at the center like a bull’s.
His demeanor screamed danger and it made me nervous, but I didn’t show it. I couldn’t let him know that he was getting to me, even before he had even said a word.
The five of them climbed the stairs and Nix moved in front of me, his smirk growing by the second. He reached for my cheek, brushing his dark purple-colored fingers against my cheek. I recoiled in disgust, and his grin widened even further.
“I’d recognize those features anywhere. You’re a Stryke girl,” he murmured.
I wanted to spit in his face.
Instead, he chuckled cruelly and went to turn away from me, but then he backhanded me hard across the face. My lower lip split and my cheek throbbed, and my four captors froze for a long moment. Zac looked like he was three seconds away from murder with Taraik right beside him. Even Roan allowed a flash of anger to quickly appear, before he forced it away. All four of them were unable to hide the tenseness in their body language, but Nix was so consumed with himself that he didn’t seem to notice. I watched, my cheek throbbing, as Nix lifted his chest and appraised the crowd, clearly high on his sense of power.
“Good evening, all. Ladies. Gents.” He paused, looking back at me. “Today, I bring you a surprise. This woman bound naked before you has evaded capture for years. It is also obvious that she is clearly related to the infamous Kira Stryke,” Nix began, and I scowled in his direction. He turned back toward me, grabbing my chin harshly and forcing my gaze up to him.
“And what’s your name?” he asked, his fingers squeezing tighter and tighter, his sharp nails pressing into my skin. It felt like he was seconds away from cutting me.
I refused to answer, and his eyes narrowed with fury. He didn’t like to be disobeyed.
His other hand wound around my left breast, squeezing hard and pinching at my sensitive flesh. I whimpered softly. There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t escape, my wrists were bound, and I was surrounded by Vakarrans, ready to take me down, probably even kill me with a single order. And here I was, at the mercy of their leader. I had no choice but to do what he said.
His face was so close to mine, I could smell the whiskey on his breath, could feel his joy at my pain. Painful memories of the past flashed before my eyes and I struggled to push them away.
Kaze.
Neil. His men and their hands on my body, forcing me down and spreading my legs.
The darkness threatened the edges of my sanity and I cried out, trying to push them away.
“Name, human. Now,” Nix demanded.
I met Taraik’s eyes first, then Roan’s, Xandaar’s, and Zac’s.
In that moment, I wished them goodbye. I knew what was going to happen next. I knew Nix would hurt me, that he might even kill me. I knew my life as I knew it was now over. I let go of any hopes and dreams I had left.
“Danika Stryke,” I whispered, gathering whatever courage was left inside me in that moment. My men moved in, their concern growing by the second.
I’d resigned myself to my fate.
“Danika,” Nix purred, testing my name with his tongue.
He turned away, patting my cheek like a child’s. This time, I really did spit at him.
He stilled.
And he laughed.
He fucking laughed at me.
“You’re going to regret that,” he replied softly, and he turned back toward the crowd. His words made my blood run cold and I shivered in my bonds. My Vakarran captors could do nothing. If they spoke up and claimed me, Nix would be angry that they’d kept me a secret. Not only would my fate be sealed, so would theirs. I’d been found in the forest, all alone, by a group of Vakarrans I didn’t know. I’d been stupid enough to get caught. I should have been more careful. I should have done so many things differently.
Nix raised his hand into the air and the entire tent fell into silence.
I waited nervously.
“I bring before you Danika Stryke. A human female who had the audacity to live free, who broke Vakarran law when she didn’t turn herself in. An unforgivable crime,” he began, and I shivered at the implication of his words.
No one said a thing.
“I’m going to be merciful. I’m going to allow her to live, but not without being punished for her crime,” he replied, and he walked over to the side of the stage, where another Vakarran handed him a thick black object.
He unrolled it and for a long moment, I was speechless.
A long, heavy black bullwhip.
He cracked it overhead and the sound echoed, just like a gunshot.
Just like the gunshot that had killed Kaze.
The memories flashed before my eyes, unbidden and unrestrained.
I lost it completely in that moment. I whimpered. I cried. I begged for mercy, all the while muttering Kaze’s name. Taraik’s gaze narrowed in on mine, the concern on his face clear. I struggled in my bonds, feeling the metal edges scrape against my skin, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to get away. I didn’t care if I got hurt in the process. I just wanted out.
Nix moved around me, off to the side a fair distance.
Nix’s arm moved, curling the whip back up and over his head. I heard the swish and I closed my eyes, fearing the lash of such a heavy whip. It would clearly hurt me, maybe even scar me for life. Holding my breath, I waited for the pain, sure it would come.
The whip cracked, the sound deafening, and I stiffened, crying out with fear.
But the punishing whip never connected with my flesh. The crowd was silent, the sound of the lash echoing loud around me, but it never hit me. Never swung against my back.
Slowly, I opened my eyes, almost afraid of what I was about to see.
There, to my left, stood Roan. His arm reached high overhead and, in his fist, was the whip. His fingers curled around its length and my lips fell open in surprise. He must have caught the whip in midair. I hadn’t even known that was possible.
I wondered if all Vakarrans had such strong lightning reflexes or if Roan was special in some way. My eyes met his, and I could see his devotion to me then.
Even before their commander, in that moment, I knew that they would never betray me.
They were mine. I was theirs.
The crowd gasped in fear and that’s when I realized that both Xandaar and Taraik were on either side of Nix, pressing a gun to his head.
Nix looked furious. If looks could kill, all five of us would have been dead. The Vakarrans in the audience moved forward, but Roan jerked the whip hard, pulling it out of Nix’s hand with ease. He gathered it and cracked the lash loudly toward them, stopping all movement.
“Come any closer and my comrades will pull the triggers,” he warned.
No one even dared move after that. Even the human women.
After a long few minutes, Roan began to speak again.
“Here’s how this is going to work. All Vakarrans are to report back to their tents. Leave your weapons in the aisles and exit now,” he demanded and when no one moved, Nix sneered his orders.
“You heard what the bastard said. Fucking get out,” Nix growled, struggling in both Taraik’s and Xandaar’s strong holds, but neither gave him any room to get away.
Once Nix spoke, the Vakarrans moved. The sounds of weapons hitting the dirt clicked loud around us and boots stomped out. The whole process took only a few long moments, and finally, it was just us as well as the human women.
“Ladies, please return to your barracks for your own safety,” Roan commanded, and unsure expressions came over the large group of females. I studied them closely, and then realized that some of them looked relieved at his command to go.
One woman moved and then another, and slowly the group of a few hundred left the tent. A few looked back in my direction, giving me a sympathetic look before turning away and following the crowd.
Then, it was just me, my four Vakarrans, and Nix.
“I’m going to fucking kill all of you for this,” Nix growled. “I’m going to tell everyone and they’re going to come for you.”
Roan didn’t flinch; in fact, he even smirked. With a heavy sigh, he crossed his arms over his chest and leveled his calm, no-nonsense gaze straight on his superior officer. If he had turned that expression on me, I know that it would have certainly made me nervous and I was grateful for that.
For a long few seconds, Roan just stared at Nix. Finally, he lifted his chin just a hair and began to speak.
“You’ve been in power for only a short portion of the time I’ve served the Vakarran military sector, and you are by far the biggest power-hungry idiot of them all. Not only are you routinely cruel and inhumane to our conquered women, but now, you have the audacity to try to maim my human mate and I simply cannot stand for that. It has been a great honor to serve under Vakarran orders; that is, until you, but from this moment on, I am defecting from service. My battalion, as well as my mate are going far from here and we hope to never see your face again. One word of warning though, if I ever see you again, I’m going to pierce that rancid skull of yours with my strongest laser. I’ll fucking kill you if I ever see you again,” Roan roared.