Stolen

by Evangeline Anderson

  “Son of a fucking bitch!” he growled. “They’re coming in too—we have to go faster.”

  But when he looked over at Penelope, he saw something that made his heart fist in his chest. Her creamy skin had gone deathly pale except for two hectic red spots, high on her cheeks and she seemed to be struggling to breathe.

  Oh Gods, did the poisons work that fast? Or was she just out of breath from fighting her way through the thick underbrush? Whatever the case, he had to get her out of the immediate danger of the NeverBreeders and their blasters so that he could sting her and treat the poison.

  Quickly, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. He would rather have carried her in his arms to minimize the risk that she would be hit, but he needed at least one hand free to push his way through the dense green and turquoise jungle growth.

  He made his way through as fast as he could, but it was slow going with only one arm. Just behind them, he could hear the little orange bastards gaining ground.

  Oh please! he thought, his heart pounding against his ribs. Please, I have to get her to safety! Don’t let her die—please!

  “Turn here, Warrior,” said a rich, feminine voice, which seemed to be both in his head and all around him at the same time.

  V didn’t question where it came from. He simply followed directions and turned where the presence that went with the voice seemed to lead him.

  The ground dipped down sharply and for a moment he almost fell. But then he got his footing again and saw that he was in a kind of natural depression—a wide hollow in the ground. At the far end of the vast bowl was a huge tree. Growing at the base of it were the long, multicolored grasses he recognized as the same ones that had been used to make their Unification Ceremony costumes.

  Billux grass, he thought. They use them because they’re not poisonous!

  “Go to the base of the tree, Warrior,” the feminine voice told him. “There you will find refuge. Hurry!”

  V did as she—the Goddess?—said and plunged deeper into the small valley. He struggled towards the tree, hearing the crashing behind him that meant the NeverBreeder guards were getting closer. What was he supposed to find at the base of the tree? How could it help him?

  He didn’t know but he kept going until at last he reached it. Crouching down, he swept at the long, multicolored grasses growing there, thinking maybe someone had left a weapon for him.

  Instead, he found a natural hollow in the vast tree’s trunk—one so large it made a kind of cave. So it wasn’t a weapon he was supposed to find but a hiding place!

  Quickly, V ducked down and into the tiny natural cave, making certain not to bang Penelope’s head as he went. He pushed towards the back, finding the space under the tree was carpeted with soft, springy moss. Laying Penelope down carefully, he kept an eye on the dense screen of multicolored grass that blocked the entrance.

  If the guards had seen them enter, they would be here soon, blasters blazing. If that happened, V intended to kill them both—or die trying. Though if he died here, he was certain Penelope would too. She needed someone to heal and protect her this deep in the jungle. His heart swelled with protective Rage at the idea of losing her, but he kept the emotion at bay and waited, trying to still his own breathing so as not to give them away.

  He heard the sound of footsteps in the tall grasses just outside their small cave.

  “Did you see where they went?” one of the NeverBreeder guards asked the other.

  “No—I was following you, Foone!” the second guard exclaimed.

  “They came this way, Doone—I know I saw them.” The first guard sounded frustrated. “How could they even get this far into the jungle without dying of the poisons? I saw them—they ran right through a patch of Breath-kill and the female brushed up against a Toxic-shock vine. They should be dead by now—both of them!”

  “They probably are and we just missed their bodies,” the second guard, who was apparently named Doone, said. “We should go back to the Compound and report them dead.”

  “But what if they aren’t?” Foone protested. “We’ll both be recycled!”

  “We’ll also be recycled if we go back and report that they got away and we think they’re still alive somewhere,” Doone reasoned. “But if we say they’re dead, we’re in the clear. Nobody will even expect us to bring back the bodies—after being in the jungle their flesh will be too full of toxins to eat. No one will question us.”

  “The Glorious Leader isn’t going to like it, Doone,” Foone warned. “We haven’t had a breeder escape from the Compound in over fifteen cycles.”

  “That cannot be helped, Foone” Doone said. “Besides, they didn’t really escape if they died, right?”

  “I guess so…” Foone still sounded reluctant but willing to be persuaded.

  Good, V thought fiercely. Get the fuck out of here! He needed to tend to Penelope but the instant he stung her she would have an intense orgasm and he knew from experience that she was loud when she came. Which had never been a problem before, but it most certainly would be now.

  The guards’ footsteps started to crunch off through the grass—it seemed the two NeverBreeders were finally leaving.

  Just then, Penelope let out a weak moan.

  “What was that?” The guards halted abruptly.

  V cursed to himself and gathered her quickly into his arms. Her skin felt cool and clammy and in the dim light of their natural cave, he could see that she was paler than ever.

  Penelope struggled weakly in his arms and seemed likely to moan again. Though he hated to do it, he put his hand over her mouth, careful to leave her nose free so she could still breathe.

  “Hush, sweetheart,” he breathed in her ear. “I’ll heal you in just a minute but for now you have to be quiet.”

  “I think I heard something,” Foone insisted again.

  “It was nothing—a wild tassit in one of the trees,” Doone said. “Come on, Foone! I know we’re a lot tougher than the breeders when it comes to poisons, but this damn Tangle-berry vine we’re standing in still makes me itch!”

  “All right, all right—I’m coming, Doone,” Foone growled. And then the footsteps started again. They got fainter and fainter until, at last, V couldn’t hear them anymore, even with his sensitive Kindred hearing.

  Finally, he could heal his mate! And just in time—Penelope was barely breathing.

  Bringing her close to his chest, he tilted her head to one side, exposing the pale column of her throat. Then he thrust out his tongue, allowing it to lengthen and sharpen until it formed his stinger…and struck.

  Seventy-Seven

  Penny was in a gray twilight world where everything was very still. At first she had been in pain and she’d been frightened because it was suddenly so hard to get air into her lungs. Then everything had gone numb and quiet and far away and it didn’t seem to matter if she could breathe or not. Slowly, she felt reality slipping away…

  And then something sharp stung her, injecting her with fire!

  Penny screamed hoarsely as her lungs suddenly came to life again, but there was something in the way of her mouth that wouldn’t let the scream come out.

  She writhed against the restraining arms around her as the fire continued to spread through her veins. It was pain like nothing she had ever known. It made the agony of being poisoned seem like a stubbed toe or a paper cut in comparison.

  “Stop!” she begged, though her words came out muffled. “Stop, it hurts! It hurts, oh God, it hurts!”

  She was trying to say something—trying to tell him something, V thought, frowning. And she was writhing against him, which wasn’t unusual—the lust honey often caused such intense pleasure that the female he was injecting couldn’t hold still. But he felt instinctively that something was wrong. Though her emotions were muddled, they were definitely intense and he wasn’t completely sure what she was feeling was pleasure.

  Carefully, he removed his hand from her mouth, since he was fairly certain that the NeverBr
eeder guards were long gone by now. As he did, he kept the flow of lust-honey going. Right now, he needed to overcome the poisons in her system. Later, after she was healed, he would sting her again to give her some immunity for when they had to venture into the jungle again. He—

  But V’s thoughts cut off abruptly when Penelope’s words at last became clear.

  “Please,” she begged. “Please, stop! Oh God, it hurts—it burns! Oh God, I’m on fire!”

  Seventy-Eight

  Horrified that he might be hurting her, V abruptly withdrew his stinger.

  “Baby?” he asked hoarsely, stroking her flushed cheek. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”

  “Hurts…” There were tears in her big brown eyes. Tears that he had put there, V realized with a rush of guilt. “Hurts so much,” she whispered. “Please…please don’t do it again. Feels like…on fire.”

  “No, I won’t,” V promised, though he knew he would have to sting her again before they could go back out into the Deadly Jungle. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” he murmured, cuddling her to his chest. “I don’t understand. My lust-honey is only ever supposed to bring a female pleasure.”

  “No pleasure…only pain.” Her eyes were drifting closed but at least her color was more normal and her breathing was no longer labored. “Only pain,” she whispered drowsily again, and then she drifted off completely, leaving V to wonder what in the Seven Hells had gone wrong with him.

  How could he have hurt the woman he loved when he was only trying to heal her?

  Seventy-Nine

  Penny woke in cool darkness, feeling achy all over. At first she wondered if she was in the Love Hut with V’rex, but she didn’t hear the constant murmuring of the hypno-whispers coming from her pillow. And in fact, she didn’t seem to have a pillow. Whatever she was lying on was soft and springy and ever so slightly damp and it smelled like dirt and grass.

  “Where…where am I?” she whispered, her voice coming out hoarse and uneven. “What is this?”

  “Hey, you’re finally awake.” The deep voice was familiar and then Penny saw pale gold eyes glowing faintly in the dark beside her.

  “V’rex!” she exclaimed. “What happened? Where are we?”

  “Hidden in the jungle. Do you remember how we got here?”

  “No…wait, yes.” Suddenly images rushed back to her. The rape attempt at the bakery and the subsequent fight between Skrug and V’rex. And then…

  “Oh my God,” she whispered faintly. “I remember now—I chopped it off!”

  There was a low rumble of laughter.

  “If you’re talkin’ about Skrug’s dick, yes you did, sweetheart. You went full-on savage on his ass, not that I blame you.” His voice went suddenly serious. “Listen, I didn’t get a chance to ask you before but did he actually—”

  “No, he didn’t…didn’t rape me.” Penny cleared her throat. “He tried but he couldn’t get it in. He—” She had to stop then, as emotions rolled over her. Anger, disgust, and also horror at what she had done. “I can’t believe I cut it off and killed him,” she whispered.

  “Believe it,” V’rex said sharply. “And don’t be ashamed or upset about it. Any male that tries to take a female against her will deserves what he gets. I’m just sorry I didn’t get to you earlier.”

  “You were all the way across the Compound—I’m amazed you got to me at all!” Penny exclaimed. “And you managed to get the Master Control too! That was amazing, V’rex.”

  “Thanks.” In the dim light, she saw him nod. “I’m just sorry we couldn’t take your friend with us,” he added. “I know you wanted to, but everything happened so fucking fast…Hey…” He leaned towards her, a concerned look in his pale gold eyes. “What’s wrong, baby? Why are you crying?”

  “Am I?” Penny sniffed and swiped at her cheek. Her fingers came away wet. His words had brought back the horror and sorrow of her discovery in the recycling room.

  “You are. Hey, come here.” V’rex put an arm around her and drew her close. “What’s wrong? Tell me all about it.”

  Haltingly, Penny told him first about her exam, then about finding the room full of grow-baths and developing NeverBreeders, and finally about the huge machine cutting up bodies in the recycling room.

  “So you were right about the meat,” he said, a note of revulsion in his voice. “Gods, and to think I ate some of it before you warned me…”

  “It wasn’t just that,” Penny whispered. “It wasn’t just the fact that they were cutting up bodies, it was who the bodies were. I saw them cut up that nice man I bought a toga from last week. And Mother Toone, our attendant at the dorms was there. And…and…” Her throat worked but she found herself unable to say her friend’s name.

  “Was Claudette there too?” V’rex guessed. “Was she, sweetheart?”

  Wordlessly, Penny nodded. Then she buried her face in his broad chest and sobbed.

  V’rex didn’t tell her everything would be all right or spout any kind of meaningless nonsense meant to comfort her. In fact, he didn’t say anything at all. But he gathered Penny into his lap and held her close and let her cry. He stroked her hair and her trembling back until at last, she felt able to talk again.

  “They killed her,” she whispered to V’rex in the darkness. “Killed her because she couldn’t have any more babies. They would have killed me too, if we had stayed.”

  “I wouldn’t have let that happen, sweetheart.” His voice was a soft growl. “I made a vow to protect you, remember?”

  Yes, but that was in the Compound, Penny thought. We’re out of there now. How much longer will he still wants to hang around with me once all the Spice is out of his system? He’s going to look at me and see that I’m not the type of girl he wants at all!

  The thought made her sad and she climbed off the big Hybrid’s lap, though at first he didn’t want to let her go.

  “You okay, sweetheart?” he murmured, when Penny was sitting beside him again, rather than on his lap.

  “I think so.” She sniffed. “It’s just…a lot to process, you know? I mean, first I see my friend like that and then that awful scene at the bakery…” She sniffed again. “I was upset with you for chopping off Skrug’s finger and then I went and chopped off his, well, you know.”

  “Yes, you did,” V’rex said firmly. “I’m fucking proud of you, sweetheart. You did the right thing.”

  “Thanks, I guess.” Penny sighed. “I just…never thought I’d be in a position to do anything so…so savage.”

  “Savage actions call out savagery,” V’rex murmured. “Sometimes you have to let the animal out.”

  “I guess,” Penny said again, still not convinced. “I just…I’ve never killed anyone before.”

  “Your first kill is always the hardest,” V’rex said grimly. “Did I ever tell you what happened to my father?”

  “No.” She shook her head, looking up at him. “You mean you saw him again after…after he abandoned you?”

  “Saw him?” V’rex barked an unhappy laugh. “I fucking tracked him down. And what you did to Skrug with that cleaver, well…” He shook his head. “Let’s just say it’s nothing compared to what I did to my Sire.”

  “You…killed him?” Penny asked hesitantly.

  “I avenged my mother,” V’rex growled. “His death paid for hers.”

  Penny felt her stomach fist into a knot. He had killed his own father! But then she remembered she was in no position to point fingers. People who live in glass houses and all that.

  “I…I guess I can understand that,” she said at last.

  “My Sire got what he deserved,” V’rex said bluntly. “And so did Skrug. Don’t agonize over it, sweetheart. You did what you had to do.”

  “Okay.” Penny took a deep breath and made an effort to push the awful memory away. It was over now—no sense dwelling on it. “Anyway, where are we hiding? Is this a cave?” she asked, trying to change the subject.

  “In a way. It’s a hollow in the side of a tree—down at the
base. Nothing in here is poisonous but I’m afraid before we get going again, I’ll have to sting you to give you some immunity to the plants we’re going to be walking through.”

  “You really have to?” Penny asked. She had a vague memory of something intensely painful that had to do with his sting, and though it might just be a dream, it still made her uneasy.

  “I’ll try to make it good for you.” V’rex’s deep voice sounded unhappy. “I’m not sure what the problem was before. Maybe something to do with the plants you were exposed to. Could be their poisons reacted with my lust-honey somehow.”

  “Okay.” Penny nodded. “Uh, do we have to go right now? And are we heading for the NeverBreeders’ launching pad?”

  “That’s where we’re headed,” V’rex confirmed. “But not yet—it’s the middle of the night. I don’t know how many animals can survive in this kind of poisonous environment, but it stands to reason there have to be some and this is when the predators will be out. The safest time to get moving is probably at dawn.”

  “All right.” Penny sighed and shifted on the spongy stuff she was sitting on, which seemed to be moss. “I guess I’ll try to get some more sleep then. I still ache all over.”

  “Probably aftereffects of the poison,” V’rex told her. “Go on back to sleep, sweetheart. I’ll keep watch.”

  “Okay.” Penny sighed and snuggled down in the darkness but the moss she was lying on felt damp and cold. She was grateful it wasn’t poisonous, but it was still pretty uncomfortable. She shivered convulsively and put her arms around herself.

  “Problems?” V’rex asked in the darkness.

  “I’m just so cold.” Penny shivered again. She wished she could ask the big Hybrid to put his arms around her and keep her warm, but she felt shy about asking.