by S. E. Smith
“Why… Why did you do that?” He asked, looking at her in confusion, even as he felt his body tilting backwards.
“Show your teeth at me again, buddy, and the next time it will be a real bullet,” she snapped.
So much for smile, his cat grumbled. You scare mate.
I am really beginning to hate these damn females, Viper thought as his head hit the hard metal again.
*.*.*
“I don’t think you are supposed to shoot an animal that many times, Tina,” the male was saying when Viper woke for the third time. “The book I studied for the test said you were supposed to calculate the weight of the animal…”
Viper’s head was about to explode, the pounding in his ears drowned out the rest of the man’s words. He remained still, afraid to move lest he disgrace himself by vomiting all over himself, and grimaced as the rest of his body began to pulsing in time with his head. He wondered if Bahadur was having any better luck.
“Well, the other bastard will be down for at least half an hour,” Pearl was saying. “I had to Taser his ass twice. The first time to knock him down, the second to shut him up. These are some strong ass sons-of-bitches.”
A shudder went through Viper. He remembered Lodar, the Shifter’s Chief Medical Officer, Vox’s friend, and fellow captive, telling him of Riley using such a device on his brother. He said it was almost as bad as the spray she used on both Vox and Tor, the Shifter’s Chief of Engineering.
“Tor said he had never been in so much pain in his life. He stated that his eyes burned like fire and he came close to begging me to just rip them out,” Lodar had told him. “Vox was not in much better shape. The thing called a Taser… Stay far away from it. It sends powerful shocks through us and disrupts our cats. They get very cranky.”
“What are we going to do with them? The bar is supposed to open in ten minutes. Already, the two new guys are giving you looks like you are crazy,” the human male said.
“Bring the other male in here,” Tina ordered. “Pearl, do you still have those handcuffs that Rodney gave you?”
“Handcuffs?” The male repeated in surprise. “Damn, Pearl, I don’t think I want to know what you did with those.” The sound of a slap sounded, followed by the man’s complaint.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Tiny,” Pearl snapped. “Rodney found them for a Halloween costume party.”
“Yeah,” the male named Tiny mumbled. “Like anyone would believe that”
“Go get the other male,” Pearl ordered. “I’ll cover you.”
The sound of a chair squeaking sounded unusually loud in Viper’s ears, but he remained still. A moment later, he heard the shuffle of feet as the male and Pearl returned. He watched as Bahadur’s twitching body was dropped next to the cage. The male leaned over and attached a metal restraint to Bahadur’s right wrist before he attached the other end to the metal bar of the cage.
“Sorry, man,” the huge male whispered. “I just work here.”
“I… will… k… kill… you… all,” Bahadur gritted through his teeth.
“Yeah, well, good luck,” Tiny grumbled. “I’ve seen some weird shit, but nothing these St. Claire women can’t handle.”
“Tiny, cover the door,” Pearl said. “People are going to be coming in. I need to check on the new guys and cover the bar. Tina…”
“I’m good,” Tina replied with a grim smile. “Pearl rule number seven, always stay alert and don’t let your guard down.”
“Was that number seven?” Tiny asked. “Damn, I need to check my notes. I thought that was number nine.”
The exasperated sigh of Pearl St. Claire echoed in the room. “Go,” she ordered. “If you need anything, hun, press the panic button. Tiny and I will be checking in on you.”
“Go, I’ve got this covered,” Tina insisted.
Viper listened as the male and Riley’s grandmother left the room. His eyes were still focused on Bahadur’s tense face. Bahadur’s eyes were closed and his body still jerked in odd spasms, but Viper knew the Curizan was fighting the effects of the powerful electrical shock by the muscle twitching in his jaw and the faint glow around his clenched fist.
Viper slowly rolled over onto his back. He made sure he didn’t make any sudden moves that might startle Tina St. Claire. Their eyes locked again. Neither one of them said anything for several long moments. They just assessed the other. Viper was very careful to keep his teeth hidden when he finally spoke.
“I mean you no harm,” he said in a hoarse voice.
*.*.*
Tina stared into the dark brown eyes. She vaguely noted the yellow-gold specks and slight slant of them. Between his facial features and his accent, he looked like he could have come from somewhere in the Eastern European area. Her eyes flickered to his lips. His teeth were definitely from somewhere else.
Drawing in a deep breath to steady her nerves, she nodded for him to continue. Her eyes flickered past him briefly to Bahadur. The Curizan was lying very still.
“Go on,” she ordered in a husky voice. “Who are you?”
Viper slowly sat up. He had to pull his knees up and place his hands on the floor of the cage to steady himself as a wave of dizziness washed through him. His cat was in worse shape than he was. Images of it lying sprawled out on its back, its legs twisted around in an impossible angle, and its mouth slightly open flashed through him.
You are worthless, he silently growled at it.
Peering up at Tina through the bars, Viper scowled. “I am Viper d’Rojah, Prince of the Sarafin,” he forced out.
“What are you doing here? What do you want?” Tina asked as she returned his steely gaze with one of her own.
“My brother sent me here,” Viper replied. “I was ordered to deliver some documents to you.”
“What kind of documents? From who?” She demanded.
Viper reached up and ran his hand down over his face. “From your sister, Riley St. Claire. She is my brother’s mate and my… Queen.” He paused when he saw her eyes widen before she gave an inelegant snort.
“Riley… You think Riley is your queen?” Tina asked in disbelief. “Do you really expect me to believe this? Riley couldn’t even get a date to the prom and you think she is some guy’s queen?”
The scowl on Viper’s face darkened. “Not some guy. Vox d’Rojah, King of the Sarafin,” he retorted.
“And where is this Sarafin?” She asked in a calm voice.
“Far away from your star system,” he replied.
“So you are telling me you are an alien? You’re not some kind of Frankenstein lab rat that has been mutated by some crazy mad scientist in a secret government lab somewhere?” She asked, tilting her head to the side to stare down at him.
“Of course not!” Viper snapped. “We are a cat-shifting species gifted our powers by the Goddesses from a distant galaxy.”
“And I’m the tooth fairy,” Tina replied with a sardonic grin. “I would have believed the Franken-rat story first.”
“Perhaps, you’ll believe this,” a voice from behind her suddenly said a second before the gun was ripped out of her hand.
Tina started to rise from the chair she was sitting in by the desk when she felt a slight pressure against her neck. Her body stiffened before her eyes fluttered close. The last thought before she lost consciousness was the fact that her grandmother had forgotten to add rules about alien visitors to her list.
Chapter 7
“I half expected you to try to kill me again,” Bahadur muttered as he carefully lowered Tina St. Claire’s body to the floor.
“My cat is still passed out, otherwise I might have,” Viper admitted.
He pulled his legs back and rested them against the door of the cage. In seconds, the lock bent and gave to the pressure on it. He emitted a low curse as he slid out of the cramped confines.
Rising to his feet, he stretched before bending to gently touch the vein at Tina’s neck. The moment his fingers touched her warm skin, he could feel not only his react
ion, but that of his cat. His hand rose to splay across her pale cheek. She really was beautiful.
Mine, his cat hissed. Take mate.
We have to get the documents to the male Riley told us about. She said that Tina would know how to contact him. Patience. Soon, we will take her with us and she will not be able to resist, Viper promised.
Viper carefully lifted Tina in his arms and straightened. His eyes raked over Bahadur, who had moved to stand near the door. Pulling Tina close to his body, he looked at the Curizan with an assessing look.
“You harness the energy around you,” Viper commented. “That is why the hair on my cat stands up when we were fighting. It can sense it.”
Bahadur turned and grinned at Viper. “Did you think the Sarafin and Valdier were the only species the Goddesses favored?” He asked in a low, sarcastic tone. “How did you know what I was planning?”
Viper adjusted Tina, enjoying the feel of her soft curves in his arms. He had known that the Curizan was planning something. Their battles during the Great War, if nothing else, would have been enough of a clue. It had been the intense look on Bahadur’s face and the swirling bands of energy that had been his biggest clue that he needed to distract Tina and hide what Bahadur was doing with his body.
“You glow when you are mad,” Viper said.
Bahadur snorted and touched his chest. “You get one of those things pressed against your chest and you would glow, too,” he bit out. “What do we do now? There are a lot more humans out there from the sound of it.”
“We show that we mean them no harm and explain what we are here to do,” Viper said. “The male was not part of the mission.”
“Do you want me to kill him?” Bahadur asked with a raised eyebrow.
Viper cast an annoyed look at Bahadur. “What part of ‘we mean them no harm’ did you not understand?” He asked. “I do not know what we will do with him, but we kill him only if we cannot prevent it.”
“Guall’s balls,” Viper suddenly hissed when he felt a sharp pain. “What in the cat’s balls are you doing?”
Two slender fingers were embedded in his nostrils. He would have jerked his head back away from them, but Tina St. Claire was pinching the tip between two of her fingers and twisting it just enough to cause him to think twice about what else she might do.
“Boogers or brains,” she muttered in a cold, hard voice. “Your choice.”
“I don’t think I like this species after all,” Bahadur commented as he watched Viper’s face twist in pain. “They do not fight fair.”
“How did he do that?” Tina demanded, not taking her eyes off of Viper’s chin to look at Bahadur.
Viper’s nose twitched when he felt Tina pinch a little harder. He had never had anything up his nose, well, except when he was a youngling and that didn’t count. All younglings put things up their noses, especially when they are dared. He had to admit he had forgotten how very, very uncomfortable a feeling it was.
“He is a Curizan,” Viper replied. “They are a pain in the ass and sneaky. Can you please remove your fingers from my nose? I have to admit, it is a very uncomfortable feeling.”
“Good,” Tina retorted, uncaring. “What…”
Her words died as the door to the office started to open. Viper knew that he wasn’t the only one that heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway. Bahadur grabbed the slender wrist and pulled Pearl into the room. His other hand moved to cover her mouth as he twisted her around.
Viper watched in resignation as Bahadur’s eyes widened a brief second before his teeth clenched and he bent forward as Pearl, in reaction to being grabbed, sank her teeth into Bahadur's hand and her knee in his groin. The loud, shuddering hiss of the Curizan’s breath drowned out the faint sound of music and voices from the other room.
“Goddess, I hate this species,” Bahadur choked out, grabbing his groin and shooting Pearl a heated look as he fell back against the wall. “You, female, are getting on my last nerve.”
“I’m surprised it’s taken this long, asswipe,” Pearl comment with a shrug before she turned to look at where Viper was holding Tina. “Put my granddaughter down.”
“I would be happy to if she would kindly remove her fingers from my nose,” Viper retorted.
“They can do strange shit, Pearl,” Tina warned.
“Honey, I kind-of figured that out when your man there turned into a big house cat,” Pearl commented dryly before she glanced down at Bahadur, who had slid down the wall and was sitting with his knees bent and his head resting on his forearms. “Something told me I needed to check on you.”
“Please,” Viper gritted out in exasperation. “Can I explain why we are here? We mean you no harm.”
“That’s not true,” Tina snapped. “I heard that guy ask if he should kill Tiny! That doesn’t sound like ‘no harm’ to me.”
Viper tried to look down, but stopped when he felt the sting in his nose. Frustration poured through him. He really was going to kill his brother when he got back. Not only for sending him on this damn mission, but for the embarrassment of having his ass kicked by not one, but two females, and for being the cause of him finding his damn mate.
Will you go lie down! He ordered his cat.
My mate, his cat purred.
The damn thing had decided to wake up and was pushing at him to get closer to Tina. He could feel the purr rumbling in his chest. He was surprised that Tina St. Claire hadn’t yet.
“Are you purring?” Tina’s sharp voice suddenly asked, breaking into the argument he was having with his cat.
“Yes,” he growled, looking down when she jerked her fingers from his nose in surprise. “My cat wants to rub on you.” Viper set Tina on her feet and moved a safe distance away so he could glare at her and her grandmother. “Riley did not tell me that you were as vicious as your grandmother! I should have known better than to believe her when she said I needed to be careful with you. She should have said I needed to be careful 'around' you.”
*.*.*
Tina scooted closer to her grandmother, never taking her eyes off of Viper d'Rojah. She absently wiped her fingers on her jeans, hoping she didn't really have any alien boogers under her nails. She would need to make sure she washed her hands the first chance she got. Who knew what kind of bacteria could be in it? Her gaze flickered to where the other 'alien' was still sitting on the floor of her office, his head bent.
"What is his name?" She asked, turning her gaze back to Viper. "He looks different than you."
"Bahadur. He is a Curizan," Viper replied calmly.
Tina glanced at the male still sitting with his head bowed. "Can he change into... a cat, too?" She hesitantly asked with a frown.
"No," Viper responded with a slight smile. "They control the energy around them. The Sarafin are cat-shifters and the Valdier are dragon-shifters. There are other species, but it would take a long time to explain the difference between each one."
Bahadur's head jerked up and he scowled at Viper. "You know, we don't go around boasting of our skills the way the Sarafin and Valdier do."
Tina watched as Viper grinned. "I know," he said. "It isn't as impressive."
"Yes, it is," Bahadur replied. "Who saved your ass from the cat cage a few minutes ago?"
The sound of an amused chuckle surprised Tina. Pearl was obviously enjoying the bickering between the two men. Tina rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest in annoyance just as the door started to open. Turning, she caught a glimpse of Tiny's head as he peeked in.
"Did you let them go or did they get loose?" Tiny asked, glancing back and forth between the two men and Pearl's amused face. "I don't have no more darts, Pearl. You'll have to shoot them this time for real."
Tina's mouth dropped open when Bahadur raised his hand and flicked it toward the door. Tiny had to move quickly to prevent his head from getting squashed between it and the door frame as it snapped shut. A second later, the sound of the lock clicked.
"Okay, well, if you need me,
scream," Tiny's muffled voice said from the other side of the door. "Otherwise, I'm going to go back in the other room."
A moment later, the sound of Tiny's heavy footsteps signaled that he was walking away. Tina glared at Bahadur. He glared back at her.
"There will be no more shooting or using that damn electrical device on me. My ass and chest have enough damn bruises on them," he muttered, turning his heated glare on Pearl. "You and I are not finished."
Tina dropped her hands to her side, her fists clenched, as she stepped in front of her grandmother. "Don't you dare threaten my grandmother... you... you... alien ass!" She snarled in a low voice.
Bahadur rose up from the floor. "I could snap both of your necks before you knew what happened," he goaded as he towered over her.
"Bahadur," Viper said sharply. "Stand down."
"Like hell you could," Tina growled, curling her fingers into a fist, taking a step closer to where Bahadur was standing.
Tina's blood boiled when the alien glanced at her grandmother with an assessing look. "Oh, I definitely could," he said, turning back to look down at her. "How do you propose to stop me this time? You are out of your 'darts," he asked, giving her a condescending smile.
Fury poured through Tina as she stepped forward until she was just a few feet from Bahadur. She was tired, overwhelmed, and frustrated with everything that had happened and her constant fear for her sister. She didn't even stop to think about the fact that she was the least violent of the three of the St. Claire women. She didn't stop to think that this was an alien with magic-like powers. She just didn't think, she reacted to all the pent-up emotions that had been slowly simmering until the right moment.
"You really, really don't want to know," she said with a deceptively sweet smile.
"Oh, yes I do," Bahadur challenged, taking the last step toward Tina.
"Oh, shit," Pearl said, watching as Tina's right hand flew out. "Just like I taught her, too."
Pain exploded through Tina's hand and arm as her fist, complete with a set of brass knuckles, connected with Bahadur's jaw. The huge Curizan's head popped backwards at the same time as the door to the office exploded inward. The combination of the blow to his jaw and the edge of the door hitting him just right was too much, even for him. Tina watched as the huge alien's eyes crossed for a moment before he crumbled to the ground unconscious.