by Eve Langlais
“Awesome. A picnic.”
Her obvious pleasure made him smile. He’d no sooner set her on the sandy beach than she stripped and ran for the waves, laughing in delight. Tren stood watching her for a moment, his heart swelling uncontrollably tight. A connection existed between them now, invisible yet stronger than any bond he’d ever imagined. He turned his back to unpack the basket, but he could still sense her location and, even odder, catch her emotions. Joy as she caroused in the waves, but, even more awe-inspiring, he could feel her strong affection for him.
He’d never paid attention in the past to the talks of mating among his kind. He’d never expected it to apply to him, although his parents had enjoyed such a bond. The experience far surpassed the bits and pieces he did know.
When he had the blanket arranged to his liking, he joined her in the water, stripping off his clothing first. He sluiced through the waves until he caught her naked body and rubbed it against his. She wrapped her legs around his waist and smiled at him. Her eyes shone, and her lips curved in a smile while her pleasure at his presence wrapped around his being in a warm embrace.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, although he already knew through their bond.
Her grin widened. “About how I’d love to eat something.”
“Our repast already awaits us.”
She bit her bottom lip and shook her head. “Not for that type of food.” She arched one brow at him, and he growled.
“You are insatiable.”
“And your problem with that is?”
Tren kissed her in response as he carried her back to the beach and the waiting blanket. He’d just made it to the sand when an alarm went off in the pile of their clothing.
“What is that?” she asked as she let herself slide down his body to stand.
Tren downplayed the alarm. “Probably just a malfunctioning sensor. We’ll need to return to the house so I can look into it.”
He kept a sharp eye out as they dressed, visually tracking the area all around them. The warning didn’t bode well at all, as it indicated a surface breach, which meant someone or something had already penetrated his planetary shield. But no matter, he’d take care of whoever thought to disturb him on his home turf, and he’d do it painfully for having interrupted his tryst with Megan. To be on the safe side, he also keyed in a request for additional support from the barracks, where he’d exiled his usual security guards so he might enjoy some private time with his mate.
Grabbing her hand, he tugged her after him as he pulled out a gun with the other.
“Um, I thought you said it was probably just a bad sensor thing?”
“It always pays to be cautious,” he replied as he increased their pace going up the path to the house. She didn’t reply, but the bite of her fingers laced in his let him know she understood the gravity of the situation despite his attempt at reducing it.
The very stillness around them bothered him, so he almost sighed in relief when he finally saw motion, scuttling green forms that thought to ambush them. With the house in sight, the path to it clear, Tren pushed Megan forward.
“Quick now. Run inside and hide in the bedroom until I come for you.”
She hesitated, and he could see indecision in her eyes. “But what about you? I can’t leave you alone.”
She worried for him? Tren’s chest swelled. “Fear not for me. I can handle this; however, I need you somewhere safe so I am not distracted.”
She went on tiptoe to brush his lips before turning to run with a muttered, “You’d better be careful, or I’ll hurt you myself.”
He grinned at her departing figure, not taking his eyes from her until she’d made it into the house safely. Then his lips curled into a vicious snarl.
Time to take care of the scum who threatened his female.
Megan dashed into the house, but she had no intention of hiding and leaving Tren alone to fight. She just wanted to arm herself before she returned to help him. She ran into the main living area but saw nothing of use. What she really needed was something from those racks of weapons she’d seen this morning during her fighting lesson.
She strode into the kitchen, meaning to ask the staff where they’d stashed them, but skidded to a halt. She found the small creatures—who acted as servants and looked like Hollywood’s version of green Martians—tied up and gagged.
Which meant some of the bad guys had made it into the house. Shit. Megan whirled to run back to the front door and Tren, but hit a brick wall. She tried to back-pedal, but hands gripped her with the strength of iron. She peered up in fright and encountered the familiar leer of Tren’s brother.
“Let me go,” she yelled.
“No.”
She kicked out, hoping to connect, but wise to her previous style of attack, he kept his lower body arched away. She struggled against him, but he reeled her in and slung her over his shoulder. She pounded at his back, shrieking.
“Bully. Tren is going to make you regret this.”
“Not before I make him regret what he did to me,” Jaro replied with an inappropriate grope.
Megan’s blood ran cold as his intent came clear. “Like bloody hell.” With no weapon at hand, she remembered what Tren had taught her and used the only weapon she had. She bit Jaro.
He cursed but didn’t put her down. “Feisty barbarian. Good thing I came prepared.”
A jab in her thigh made her huff in annoyance. “Aw, fuck. Not again. What is it with you aliens and drugging women. Jerrrk.” She slurred the last word as the world went fuzzy and she blacked out.
Thirteen
Tren didn’t wait for the encroaching enemy to approach. He charged them with silent fury. A gun in one hand, a knife in the other, he took aim as he went after the invaders. He didn’t miss. Nor did he shoot to injure. Each headshot took down an intruder, and those who popped up silently from the rocks and brush met the sharp edge of his blade.
As attacks went, the enemy proved less than impressive. Mindless clones that resembled the slimy skinned goblins of the Pracgudian galaxy, they didn’t even wield any laser pistols. Whoever had sent them to attack had armed them instead with knives and swords. To say he sliced through them in a gruesome swath was an understatement. Actually, the ease with which he dispatched them insulted him. If someone was going to attack me, they could have at least made an effort.
Unless these fodders for death served another purpose, such as delay. Tren almost groaned aloud at his stupidity in not recognizing the stalling tactic.
Urgency imbued him as, through his connection to Megan, he sensed her sudden shock, then fear. Her anger swiftly followed, but what worried him most of all was when, like a fire snuffed, he no longer felt anything of her emotions.
Tren roared in fury, the icy chill of fear held at bay by the intact tendril of his mating bond allowing him to know she lived, though incapacitated.
Unacceptable.
Tren broke off the battle with the clones and ran toward his house then past it, following his ghostly connection to Megan.
At a swift jog, it didn’t take him long to catch up to his brother, who strode along in cocky arrogance with Megan slung over his shoulder.
“Drop her, Jaro, before I put an end to our feud once and for all.”
His brother turned with a smirk. “Done with my little surprise already? That must be a record even for you. I’d calculated it would take you at least a few units, enough time for me to get away with the female.”
Tren raised his gun and aimed it at his brother’s head, his hand steady, even if his heart quavered at what Jaro forced him to do. “Don’t make me kill you,” he warned.
Jaro scoffed. “You and I both know you won’t break our promise to Mother over a female.”
Tren felt the coldness of his killer side slip over him. “I will kill anyone who thinks to harm my mate, promise or not.”
Jaro’s eyes widened, and he reeled back a step. “Mate? Surely you didn’t bond with the Earthling? She’s a barbarian
.”
“Megan is my mate. The proof of her claiming is visible on her neck. So I am going to ask you one last time to put her down, or make no mistake, I will kill you.”
Before Jaro could comply, a burning pain hit Tren’s back. With a growl, Tren turned and fired on the ranks of a new group of aliens approaching armed with laser pistols. A presence at his side made him snarl, a sound bitten short as he saw his brother shooting at the advancing menace.
“Game over, Jaro. Call your lackeys off,” Tren shouted.
“They’re not mine,” Jaro replied, his expression grim as he aimed and fired.
“Frukx!” Tren didn’t like the sound of that, but then another worry hit him. Megan. He whirled in time to see figures darting toward her prone figure on the ground. Tren roared as he rushed them, shooting them down, but more poured forth from the vegetation as he stood over her body, protecting her unconscious shape with his own.
A few fiery shots struck him, the burning pain making him grit his teeth. It also made him sloppy, and he missed the attack from behind, which toppled him over to lie face first in the ground.
And this is why I became a mercenary instead of a soldier. Sneak attacks are much better for my general health than full-on battle.
The injuries peppering his body would heal if he got to a medtech unit. Tren groaned as he tried to push himself up. He struggled to one knee as the sounds of shouting and renewed firing let him know the guards that he’d sent away during his courtship of Megan had finally arrived from the outpost.
Frantically, he looked about for Megan. When he didn’t see her, he staggered to his feet. The sudden movement made him sway, and black spots danced in front of his eyes.
Then he knew nothing.
Tren woke in the healing unit, and he bellowed when the frukxn’ thing wouldn’t let him rise as it completed the mending sequence. His shout brought Jaro, who sported some colorful bruises.
“Where’s Megan?” Tren could sense her, faintly. His fragile connection to her frightened him like nothing else ever had.
Jaro’s face tightened.
Tren struggled against the invisible bonds that held him while the machine worked and gave up with a frustrated scream of rage. “This is your fault,” Tren yelled.
“I’m not the one who kidnapped her,” Jaro shouted back.
“But you’re the one who frukxed with my security, are you not?”
Jaro at least had the decency to look sheepish. “I only meant to take your human and copulate with her like you did with Shinja. Show you what it felt like to have a female you cared for tainted.”
Tren growled. “You idiot! How many times do you have to be told I never touched that she-witch?”
Jaro’s lips tightened. “Stop lying. She admitted it to me.”
“Because the whore was mad I rebuffed her advances.”
“Liar. She loved me, and you just couldn’t keep your hands off.”
“She was copulating with the whole regiment. I was the only one who said no. Don’t believe me? Fine, then call up some of the others from the rank. I’m sure now that all this time has passed, they might finally have the courage to admit their part.”
Jaro’s face stiffened for a moment then went slack with resignation. “Some already have confessed.”
“And?” Tren growled.
“I killed them instead of believing them.”
Tren snorted. “They probably deserved it. So are you going to keep believing that good-for-nothing whore or your own brother and common sense?”
“What? And give up our competition for greatest mercenary?” Jaro grinned.
“Ha. What competition? We both know I’m the better one.”
“Says the male who had his security system cracked and didn’t notice until I intentionally set off an alarm.” Jaro smirked in triumph, and Tren scowled.
“I was distracted.” And still was with worry about his mate. “How much longer before this blasted thing is done? I need to go after Megan.”
“You still have a few units to go, but don’t worry, we’ve almost caught up to the idiot who took her.”
Tren laid his head back and closed his eyes in relief. “Good.”
“Not really. Z’nistakn is the one who kidnapped her, and he’s taking her back to his planet, which is virtually impregnable.”
Tren allowed a ghost of a smile to tilt his lips. “No, it’s not. I bribed the engineer who designed his system.”
“You mean tortured?” Jaro replied wryly.
“Either way, he gave me some backdoor codes to get in.”
“How do you know he didn’t change them?”
“I killed him right after, of course.” Tren chuckled, and Jaro joined him.
“Fine, that gives you a possible way in, but it does nothing to help us with the troops he has on hand to throw at us both on land and in space.”
“I’ll worry about penetrating his fortress. It is after all my specialty. As for space, I think it’s time I called in some favors. I will get her back, Jaro, even if my actions start a war with the entire Galactic Council.” Tren couldn’t care less about Z’nistakn’s position on the council. He’d frukxed with the wrong male when he took their mutual dislike to a personal level.
Jaro sighed. “Great, reunited for not even a galactic unit and already you’re dragging me into trouble.” He laughed. “Just like the old days.”
Tren joined him in chuckling, but his was a darker sound. Where Megan was concerned, he’d do and kill anything to get her back. Woe to anyone who stood in his way.
In what rapidly was becoming a tedious pattern, Megan blinked her eyes open, sighed, and kept them open. Not that the view really appealed, but she’d learned playing opossum simply didn’t seem to work. Besides, the situation warranted her using her wits because standing in front of her was a cross between an alligator and a human. In other words, something butt ugly. Unlike her other abductions, this time she sat in a chair with only her hands bound in front of her, which left her feet free. What a mistake.
“Finally, she awakes,” hissed the creature, flicking out a forked tongue.
She crinkled her nose. “What are you, Voldemort’s cousin?”
Slitted yellow eyes narrowed. “Silence female. I am galactic councilor Z’nistakn, but you may call me Master.”
A snicker escaped her. “I don’t think so. Although I can see calling you my new pair of boots if you don’t take me back to Tren, like yesterday.” Megan made the threat, even as she didn’t hold out hope Tren would rescue her again. Ridiculous as her new captor appeared and spoke, she recognized the signs of wealth from the well-armed guards at his back to the more opulent surroundings around her. Anyhow, it wasn’t as if her pirate truly cared for her. He simply enjoyed using her body. It didn’t stop her from hoping, though, that he’d come sweeping in, guns blazing to rescue her like Han Solo and Luke had with Princess Leia.
The lizard, whose name she couldn’t pronounce, just about went postal at her words. “Insolent whore. I will teach you to mock those superior to you.” Its clawed fingers grappled with the robe it wore and spread it open to reveal a stubby penis.
Megan laughed. “Ooh, make me shake in teeny, tiny fear, why don’t you? My god, are all your kind so poorly endowed? No wonder you need to kidnap women. Your own probably keep laughing you out of the bedroom.”
The titters she heard didn’t come from Mr. Lizard, but his guards. And it made him snap. He drew back and slapped her, rocking her head to the side.
Turning back to face him, she smirked. “Lovely, another alien coward who can only hit a woman when she’s tied up. Is Tren the only alien in the galaxy man enough to handle a real woman?” She really should learn to shut up, she thought, as Mr. Lizard smacked her again and again, but honestly, she’d rather die than let the alligator freak touch her.
A beeping sounded, and a computer-generated voice announced, “Request for teleconference from Trenkaluan for galactic councilor Z’nistakn.”
Megan’s heart almost stopped at those words. Was Tren hurt? Oh, my god.
The lizard turned away from her and faced a large blank wall. “Put him onscreen.”
Tren’s face filled the wall, his blue eyes almost opaque in his fury. “Z’nistakn,” he snarled. “You’ve crossed the line.”
The alien crowed. “Ah, has the mighty mercenary suffered a loss? So much for your reputation of always prevailing.”
Mercenary? Megan’s brow furrowed. Tren was a space pirate, or was he? Suddenly some of the things he’d said and done came together, and she wanted to laugh at her naivety. Mercenary or not, she still loved the stupid, purple lug.
“You will return Megan to me this instant or suffer the consequences,” Tren ordered.
“I think not. Well, not until you’ve done a few tasks for me. Then we can talk about a possible exchange.”
“You sign your death warrant then.”
“It will take more than threats to frighten me,” scoffed the lizard.
Tren’s lips curled into a sadistic smile that made her shiver, not in fear for herself, but in satisfaction. The idiot who’d kidnapped her didn’t seem to realize he played with fire. “That wasn’t a threat. It was a promise.”
The alien laughed. “You seem to forget I have an army at my disposal. Actually, as we speak, I’ve already dispatched my squadrons to take care of your vessel if you refuse to cooperate.”
Tren’s smile widened. “Who says I came alone?” The view on the screen switched to show one tiny ship hovering in space, and then suddenly, there were dozens of vessels of varying sizes.
A stink permeated the room as Mr. Lizard almost shit himself in sudden fear. His voice quavered when he spoke again. “You wouldn’t dare! The council won’t sit back and allow you to kill me. It would mean a declaration of war against your kind if you did.”