by Sara Fields
Nix was silent. I almost grinned. I wondered just how much his legs were shaking right now. He looked scared enough to piss himself and I thought it couldn’t happen to a better person.
I felt Zac behind me. The metal around my wrists grew warm.
“Stay still. I don’t have a key and I don’t want the laser to graze you. You trust me, little dove?” Zac whispered in my ear and I simply nodded, too afraid to test my voice.
I took a deep breath, forcing my body to stay still even as the metal heated, hotter and hotter against my skin. Even when it felt like I was going to get burned, I remained perfectly still and finally, the cuffs popped open and I fell forward, but Zac was thankfully there to catch me. His arms curled around my waist, squeezing me tight to his chest and I sighed in relief. I felt safe then.
Roan nodded curtly in Xandaar’s direction and I watched as he swung his arm back, taking the butt of his gun and slamming it into the back of Nix’s head. There was a flash of shock on Nix’s face, before his eyes rolled and he slumped in Xandaar’s and Taraik’s arms. They released him, and he fell to the floor and didn’t move.
Roan moved toward me and Zac tossed me to him. As the largest of the four, he grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder and the five of us rushed out of the tent, leaving Nix behind. It was extremely dark outside, with only the light of the stars to guide our way. I noticed that the moon wasn’t even out either.
We rushed into the woods. Roan and my Vakarrans sprinted, their speed much faster than any human could possibly hope to accomplish. Despite the fact that I was tossed naked over Roan’s shoulder, it didn’t seem to slow him down in the slightest. He held me firmly, his arm wound so tightly around my waist that I didn’t even bounce as he ran. Eventually, he shifted me onto his back and I curled around him, my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck.
After what seemed like hours later, I finally felt safe enough to whisper something.
“Where can we go that’s safe?” I whispered, so quietly that the only one that could possibly hear me would have been Roan.
“We’ve gathered some evidence that there is some sort of settlement of Vakarrans and humans alike in a city that, from what I understand, you humans used to call Atlanta,” he explained.
Atlanta had once been a thriving city, but that had been before the Vakarrans had come to Earth. Once word had reached Earth that the inevitable invasion was coming, the rich and elite abandoned everything in favor of escape. I’d only heard rumors of small groups of humans living in its depths, but nothing like a settlement like Roan was describing. Humans and Vakarrans? Living as one?
It seemed bizarre.
I didn’t ask anything more. Instead, I leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes, exhaustion taking over me. I just breathed, and my captors ran, escaping with me and leaving everything they’d ever believed in far behind.
Now, it was just me and them. Together and alone. And we’d just pissed off one of the most powerful man in the Vakarran military.
I didn’t even want to think about it.
I fell asleep instead.
Chapter Twelve
Danika
I woke up to see the sky brightening above our heads. Roan and the others had slowed down and the five of us looked to be approaching the edges of the forest just a little way ahead. Between the trees, I could see buildings rising up toward the clouds.
We’d reached Atlanta.
When we got to the tree line, they paused, looking out into the distance.
The buildings still rose up high into the sky, but they were dirty, the windows broken. The streets looked abandoned, vines and brush breaking up between the cracks of concrete. The city was quiet, except for the songs of birds, the cackle of bugs, and the rush of wind. It was strangely quiet for what I remembered to once be a bustling city. There wasn’t a single human in sight.
I’d remembered visiting there as a child, seeing the cars rush through the air, autopiloted to their destinations. Public transit trains used to zip across above it all, reverse phase magnetics driving them forward faster than any technology at the time.
I’d ridden it once. It had been a blast. Now, I saw the remains of one train hanging from a building, several stories up with some of its cars strewn out on the ground below.
It was something I hadn’t expected to see. In fact, I’d never thought I’d be back to the city ever again.
“I wonder where this settlement is? Where are we going to look?” I whispered anxiously, my heart pulsing in my throat. The quiet was too vast; it made me feel uneasy.
Roan shook his head.
“We’re not going to go find them. Their bases move all around the city underground, so we’d have little chance of happening upon them. Instead, we’re going to explore and wait until they come to us,” he replied. Roan allowed me to then climb down to the ground. I stretched my stiff muscles and couldn’t help but notice all four men admiring my still naked curves.
“No need to whisper though, little dove,” Taraik chided.
“Here, I stole this for you before we left,” Xandaar said, tossing me a black cloth. I caught it and let the crumpled fabric drape toward the ground. It was a long dress, similar to the wrap dress I had found before, except this one was lined with lace. I pulled it over my shoulders, grateful for the opportunity to finally cover my body.
The material was soft, slightly silky, but surprisingly thick.
“It’s a design foreign to your planet. The fabric is three layers and the central layer is comprised of xenium, the hardest material found in the galaxy. It can even repel the most popular lasers of today. We want you to remain safe, no matter what happens today,” Xandaar explained. He then passed me a pair of ballet flats, which I quickly slipped onto my toes.
Then, they surrounded me in a four-point formation, protecting me from all angles and ventured forward, going slowly down the streets of Atlanta. I felt safe surrounded by them and the more we wandered, the more I just focused on the sights around me, rather than the dangers associated with this rogue settlement they believed was here somewhere.
I recognized a few buildings, the town hall, a shopping mall, but not much else. Now, surrounded by the encroaching tendrils of nature, it was something entirely different.
I began to see shadows in the windows, but when I concentrated on what I thought I saw, I could find nothing. I started to think my eyes were playing tricks on me.
“Do they know we’re here?” I asked quietly, still anxious to speak too loudly.
“They knew the second we entered the city, little dove,” Taraik replied from behind me. He reached for me and squeezed my shoulder, but the movement of my captors did not slow down. Instead, we kept on walking down the streets.
We headed into a square of what looked to be an old street market, abandoned street kiosks everywhere, and at once, a flurry of noise rushed around us. My men stopped, tightening around me and I struggled to see what was happening.
“Who’s there?” a male voice sounded. I couldn’t tell if it was human or Vakarran.
“A friend,” Roan replied.
“Says who,” the man responded.
“Says the Third Battalion. Recently deserted and freed from Vakarran servitude,” Roan said calmly.
“Drop your head pieces on the ground,” the man ordered, and my four captors did just as they demanded.
“Shall we destroy the head pieces?” Roan asked.
“No. Our people will disable any and all tracking devices in them and use them for our own forces,” a female voice sounded, and I froze.
I knew that voice.
I fucking knew it.
Holy shit.
Alaina. My long-lost sister.
I pushed at Roan, but he was like a cement statue.
“Alaina,” I yelled out loud and all went quiet.
“Reveal the woman,” Alaina’s voice demanded, sounding slightly hopeful, and my captors very reluctantly moved aside. And that’s w
hen I saw her.
Surrounded by four Vakarrans of her own, one with a wicked scar and a set of striking blue eyes, was my sister. I rushed toward her and her to me, and the eight Vakarrans with us tried to react in time, but I wasn’t going to let them stop me from getting to her. She threw her weapon aside, running for me at full force.
When we finally reached each other, we came together in a hug, embracing each other with all the strength we could muster.
“Danika,” she breathed. “I can’t believe it’s you. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again. Is Kaela here with you?” she asked, and I shook my head.
“A lot has happened in the time that you’ve been gone,” I replied, and she nodded, her eyes searching mine.
“I can imagine,” she said, her eyes drifting over to the four Vakarrans at my side.
“You as well,” I said with a laugh, looking pointedly at her four as well.
“Who’s this?” Roan demanded beside me. He couldn’t hide his wariness.
“This is Alaina. She’s my older sister,” I said. Roan nodded curtly and took a step back.
“It’s so good to see you alive,” Alaina murmured.
“I thought you were dead,” I said, my relief clearly apparent in my tone. “I’d heard Kira was alive, but nothing about you.”
“Believe me, Ryder, Aarom, Morgn, and Davon here have ensured that I’m very much alive,” she laughed. One of her four sent a rather stern glance in her direction, but she ignored him. Her eyes drifted instead around us, looking for signs of life. “Let’s get out of here though. We need to move. Too many of us in a single area is sure to activate their satellites,” she said, and everyone rushed to obey her.
My four Vakarrans and I were led off into what looked like a tall apartment building. We took a still running elevator up to the penthouse on the top floor, which was vast, filled with all sort of technological advancements that the rich could afford before Atlanta was abandoned. Alaina gave me a quick tour and I was astounded at the richness that I saw. There was at least five bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a bunch of extra rooms and what she described as closets. There was even a room with an extravagant amount of jewelry on display.
She sat down on an oversized plush couch in a large sitting area and I joined her. My men and hers began speaking off to the side, in hushed tones that we couldn’t quite hear, but neither of us really cared. Instead, we took the time to catch up with each other.
She told me how she’d been captured by the Vakarrans and how they’d hidden her away from Commander Nix. She even told me how they had hidden here, hiding out in various locations in the city in order to remain safe. She mentioned a human resistance that had been here once and the men she described strangely reminded me of Neil and his goons.
I told her everything, how Kaze had been killed, how my four had rescued me and what had happened when Nix had captured me. Anger, sadness, and fear passed over her features, but she stayed silent, letting me tell my story while her hands held onto mine.
“And now, we’re here with you,” I finally finished, and she smiled softly and nodded.
“They’ve been good to you then, I take it?” she asked while pointing at my captors, and I nodded.
“The four of them have saved my life now. Twice,” I replied, gazing back at them with fondness. “I have some things to tell them though, although I’m afraid they’ll be upset with me,” I added after a moment, thinking about how all four of them still thought I’d betrayed them when I had run away.
“Tell them. You’ll feel better after it’s all over,” she replied, and I nodded. I knew she was right, but I was nervous of what quite a few heavy palms would do to my poor ass.
Thankfully, Alaina quickly changed the subject after that, bringing me over to the still focused Vakarrans in the kitchen area.
She introduced me to her four Vakarrans.
The one with the blue eyes was Ryder. She said he was the leader of what was once known as the Second Battalion. The other three—Morgn, Aarom, and Davon—nodded their greeting then.
“We’ll monitor the network bandwidth for Nix’s activity now. It may be time for us to begin to consider reactionary measures,” Ryder said.
“Nix already has a hunch you guys are here,” Roan replied.
“We’re aware, but all his evidence that we’ve seen places us on the opposite side of the city, so we’re safe for now. We’ll build more observational points as a fail-safe and put more of us on network monitoring duty, so that if Nix moves an inch or sends a message, we’ll know,” Ryder said, crossing his arms.
“Until then, we should lay low,” Roan agreed.
“You five should rest up. Take one of the bedrooms and get some sleep. The training camp is a good distance from here. I’m sure you were running all night,” Ryder said.
“We were. Thank you for your hospitality,” Taraik agreed and he slinked his arm around my shoulder, directing me toward one of them. Alaina caught my eye and smiled, telling me without words that everything was going to be okay. Taraik’s grip on my arm tightened, an indication that told me otherwise though. I swallowed nervously.
I had some explaining to do once I was alone with the four of them.
I had a feeling my poor backside was about to pay the price of my rashness, but I hoped they’d listen to me first, before they simply reacted. No one stopped us as we walked down the hall. The door slid open and shut behind the five of us, the sound ridiculously loud in the ensuing silence.
Once we were completely alone, I whirled around and quickly sat down on the bed. At that moment, I was more than grateful for the dress covering my body as all four of them were staring at me with stern gazes that left my ass and pussy clenching anxiously before them.
“We have a few things to discuss,” Roan began, his tone incredibly stern as he reached for my wrist.
“Wait. Please,” I begged. To his credit, Roan did wait, taking a step back and crossing his arms over his chest.
Taraik glared in my direction.
“Now you ask for forgiveness, after everything,” he muttered, the hurt he’d clearly been holding at bay taking over his features.
My eyes watered.
“Please. I didn’t run because I wanted to leave you,” I rushed to say. “There was something else I needed to do that forced me to run.”
“Guys, wait. Let her explain,” Zac said. I’d half expected him to be the angriest at me, as he was always the quickest to lose his temper, but this time, he was calm. Ready to defend me and I adored him for it.
“I’m sure she had her reasons,” Xandaar replied and I could see the love in his eyes. He’d been the most difficult to get to know, but now that we’d come to an understanding of each other, I could tell that he had the biggest heart of all.
Taraik and Roan though, both men I knew would eventually see reason, seemed the most furious out of the four. I slid down to my knees before them and pressed my palms together.
“Please. I was afraid for my sister,” I began.
“Your sister is here,” Roan scoffed.
“Alaina isn’t my only sister,” I answered.
Roan stiffened.
“You know of my sister Kira, far off in space with her captors. You know now of my sister Alaina, but you know not of my final sister,” I replied.
Taraik’s brow rose, his gaze contemplative and I knew I was beginning to get somewhere.
“I have another sister, Kaela. She’s the youngest of us. She’s not known by the Vakarrans and she’s still safe deep in the forest. When Xandaar mentioned that Nix knew of a settlement of humans, I thought he meant her, and I knew I had to warn her, to tell her to run. Please. She’s family. My blood. I couldn’t bear it if someone destroyed her because Nix found her,” I shouted, desperate to say what I needed to say before the four of them descended on me.
Roan spoke first, as I expected him to.
“Danika, I understand where you’re coming from. I, like you, feel a strong kinship w
ith my comrades and would do anything to protect them. Would you say that was a similar comparison to what you felt with your sister?” he said. I adored him for trying to understand me, rather than to just react.
“Yes, sir,” I replied, knowing that the only thing that could serve me now was my obedience with my four captors, my four men.
Taraik took a deep breath, kneeling down to stare into my eyes. I begged him with my body to understand me, but when he looked at me, I was sad to still see disappointment there in his eyes.
“Little dove. Why did you not think to tell us this? Why run and tell us nothing? You left us to think that you’d abandoned us and had forsaken everything that we’d shared. You hurt every single one of us,” he said softly, and every word was like a dagger to my heart.
I pressed my palms to my chest and drew in a shaky breath.
Guilt speared through me. He was right. I could have told them what was wrong. I could have trusted them since they’d shown absolutely zero signs that they would betray me. None. Nothing at all. All evidence actually pointed to the polar opposite. Instead, I’d solely reacted on instinct and ran away on my own rather than talk with any of them.
“Please,” I begged.
Taraik sighed.
He took my chin and pressed his lips to mine. Softly, sweetly, and all consuming.
“Do you know how scared we all were? Seeing you up there on that stage? Our woman, in danger of being hurt by the enemy,” he said quietly, and I blinked rapidly, trying to force the tears that threatened to fall far away.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice thick with emotion.
“Do you trust me, little dove?” he asked.
I did too. I trusted him completely. I trusted all of them.
“Do you still need to be punished?” Taraik asked, his copper irises studying mine, as if he could see deep into my soul. I fidgeted, feeling the effects of his words on my body and my skin tingled with desire. My pussy clenched, and I could feel the moistness of my arousal trickling down my folds. My lips parted, and I took a shaky breath.