by Octavia Kore
“I should have hit him again,” she said, grimacing at the male’s crumpled form.
“You did well, Shayfia.” He laughed softly. “So well…” Brin reached for her hand, tugging her closer. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”
“No. I’m okay.”
“He won’t hurt you. I won’t let him near you again.”
Her eyes darted back to him, roaming over his face. A frown tugged at her mouth, and her dark brows furrowed as she looked down at his torso.
“Brin…” She tsked at him softly as she bent to inspect the wounds. “Sit on the bed. I’ll get my bag and clean those up.”
“Don’t trouble yourself. They’ll heal on their own.” Brin tugged at her arm.
“And what about your face?”
“What exactly is wrong with my face?” he asked, skimming his fingers along the skin of his cheeks. “It’s the same as it’s always been.”
“Exactly. I’m not sure I’ve got anything in my bag that can fix that.”
Brin’s head fell back as he winced in mock offense, gasping dramatically as she spun away from him. The sound of her laughter made his skin tingle and he marveled at her ability to find humor in something that must have been so terrifying for her. One moment she was saving his life, and the next she was poking fun at his appearance.
With a heavy sigh, Brin lay back on her bedding and watched as Jun left the room. The cuts stung with each breath he took, but his mind felt at peace. She was safe now that the Grutex was being held by the hex.
How had the male found them though? His call to Oshen hadn’t even gone through, and he had been so careful to keep his signal hidden. Maybe there was something here, in Jun’s home, that had alerted the Grutex.
“All right, Glowworm, let’s get a better look at those.” Jun said as she swept back in. He saw her eyes dart over to the body of the other male, as if she were reassuring herself that all was still well.
His ears flattened against his head as she began to pull out a variety of instruments, some of them far sharper than he imagined she needed to close him up. “Are you sure you know what to do with those things?”
Jun gave him a droll stare. “I’ve been a nurse for years, Brin. I have plenty of experience.”
She reached out with a small white ball soaked in something that smelled foul and he flinched, hissing at the sting it caused when it touched one of the wounds on his side. She murmured an apology, dabbing the liquid over each of the scratches.
Her hands moved methodically, cleaning and assessing each wound, tutting and fretting over things he knew would heal up before the night was over, but he didn’t stop her.
Having Jun so close with her fingers brushing his skin was something he wouldn’t have put a stop to even if the world were ending. He clenched his jaw as she threaded the needle through his skin, closing up the larger portions.
“Sutures aren’t normally my job, but it’s a skill I seem to be using a lot lately,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “I think that should do for the larger ones. Oshen healed far faster than I’ve ever seen, so I don’t imagine much of this was even necessary for you.”
“No.” He grinned. “I appreciate it all the same.” Brin sat up on the bed, wincing at the pain the movement caused.
“You’ve got a cut here,” Jun said, picking up one of the little white balls she’d dipped in the fluid and dabbing it at the corner of his mouth. When he sucked in a pained breath, she murmured a quiet apology, their eyes meeting as she leaned in close to blow a soft stream of air along the irritated skin.
Brin cupped the back of her head, his fingers sliding into the silky strands as he pulled her closer. The tiniest gasp escaped her as he brushed his lips over hers, testing, teasing before he dove into the kiss. The tip of his tongue swept against her bottom lip, slipping inside as she opened for him.
Mine, something inside him rumbled.
The hand he had fisted in her hair tightened, and a growl tore up through his throat when Jun’s hand pressed against the heated skin of his chest.
This is where she belongs, the voice whispered.
The sound of Jun’s moan coursed through his veins, hardening his kokoras within its sheath until it extruded against the fabric of his pants. An awareness zinged up his spine as the glands at the base pulsed, swelling for the first time in his entire life.
No. Goddess, please.
Jun’s teeth sank into his exploring tongue, and he jerked back with a curse, his hand flying to his mouth as she shoved to her feet. Her brows were drawn together and her chest heaved as she stared at him.
“What the hell was that?” she demanded.
He couldn’t stop the chuckle that tumbled from him as he watched her fume. “Do humans not kiss?”
“Of course we do!” She hissed as she stepped out of his reach. “Why did you do it?”
Brin’s fingertips tingled at the thought of touching her again. Why had he done it? “Because I wanted to.”
“You’re a pervert,” Jun huffed, snatching up her bag and stalking out of the room without so much as a glance in his direction.
Most Venium males waited their whole lives for the moment their glands would swell. It was a milestone to rejoice over, to be celebrated with friends and family, but all Brin felt as he watched his mate leave was gut wrenching fear. My mate.
“Didn’t care for that, did she?” the Grutex asked from the floor.
Brin rose from the bed and moved to the male’s frozen form, crouching down to place his palm against the forcefield until the barrier glowed. “Nyissa, switch the hex to transportation mode. Set hex to follow.”
“Transportation mode, on. Setting hex to follow, Master.” The AI on his inner wrist flashed as the hex device lifted the Grutex’s body slowly off the ground until it hovered near his knee.
Stepping over the broken pieces of the door, Brin moved into the hall. He could see Jun inside her bathroom, splashing water onto the back of her neck and over her face.
Their gazes connected in the mirror, and instead of the soft, sweet look of the female who had stitched up his wounds minutes ago, he watched her sneer just before she kicked the door shut with her foot. It was safe to say she was unhappy with him.
The front room of Jun’s dwelling would have to do as a makeshift interrogation room for the time being.
“Nyissa, set hex for interrogation mode,” he instructed the AI when he finished sliding the couch across the floor, blocking the front door. With the middle of the room cleared, Brin turned to study the Grutex as he was moved into an upright position, his legs bending so that he kneeled on the ground. “Cancel follow command. Set hex to stationary.”
“Of course, Master. Is there anything else I can do for you? Perhaps you would like me to draw you a bath or tuck you into bed?”
Brin grinned at the sarcasm in her voice. “Maybe later.”
The air within the dwelling was hot and humid against his skin. Temperatures within the underwater dome on Venora and even on the ships they used to travel were regulated and kept them all comfortable.
Brin made a note to fix Jun’s faulty air system as soon as he got something useful out of their guest. An involuntary rumble rattled through his chest as he locked eyes with the male. He didn’t like having to keep him here so close to his mate, but Brin had no other options, especially with the sun still so high in the sky.
The laws that governed the Venium were clear when it came to interrogation. He would give the Grutex a chance to answer freely, and if he chose not to? Well, Brin had been raised on the tactics he was permitted to use.
Brin stepped in front of the Grutex, his face impassive as he stared down into the angry red eyes of his captive. If the stubbornness he saw in them was any indication, this was going to be a long and frustrating night.
Fear was not something expected from the Grutex, especially from their warriors, and this one was no different. His claws hadn’t retracted and Brin felt the tips dig into his skin as
he fisted his hands behind his back.
“What is your name?” he asked, but the male only smiled. “Did you track me to this location?”
The hex system kept the body immobile, but the Grutex was free to move his head and speak. Instead, the male used the freedom to spit against the forcefield, snarling as he stared straight ahead.
So be it, he thought as he leaned forward, his hand passing easily through the shielding. The tip of his claw dug into the hole Jun’s weapon had made in the male’s exoskeleton, finding the space between the projectile so that he could pierce the softer skin beneath it.
He jerked his hand back, listening with satisfaction to the snapping sound the shell made as a small piece broke off. A grunt was the only indication that the male had felt the pain, so he dug deeper, moving his finger from side to side as he tore through the flesh.
“Raou!” the male spit. “My name.”
“How many of you came?”
“I am the only one here,” he answered.
It wasn’t a lie; technically he was the only Grutex here, but Brin knew they rarely traveled alone. The others might not be close by, but they would come looking for him eventually, and Brin couldn’t risk being caught off guard.
He didn’t want to hurt the male, didn’t want to prove that he was as vile as Brega and Tesol had trained him to be, but not getting this information put Jun in danger. Whether he’d wanted to find her or not, Brin found he was more than willing to kill to ensure the safety of his female.
Raou closed all six of his eyes as Brin grasped one of the long, deadly claws, bending it and the digit it was attached to backward.
“Did you track me to this location?” he asked again, but the male stayed quiet.
Brin applied more force, pressing back until the nail began peeling away from the bed. Raou growled, his body tensing as the claw snapped at the base. It would grow back soon enough, but the pain until then wouldn’t be pleasant. Brin dropped the claw at the male’s feet, ignoring the lifeblood that dripped from the wound, and reached for the next one.
“Is that really necessary?” Jun asked from the hallway.
“He broke into your home, and if you hadn’t been quick enough to defend yourself, he could have snatched you away before I even knew he’d be in here.”
Brin could barely contain the fury he felt at the thought that he had come so close to losing her. Jun was his responsibility, whether she knew it or not. He didn’t want a family, not in the traditional sense, but he could make this work, couldn’t he? What if they never had pups? They could discuss it, come to an agreement. If she knew what Brega had planned for any pup he produced, surely she would see that he could never reproduce.
“I will claim her when they come for you,” Raou spoke. “Pretty little breeder… Maybe they will keep you alive long enough to watch me take her.”
Brin swore he could physically feel something within him snap at the words. He fisted his hand and, without even allowing himself a moment to think, spun around, throwing all of his weight into the punch. The male’s head jerked back, and before he could right himself, Brin had cocked his arm back and sent his fist flying into Raou’s face once more.
She is mine! Mine! his mind raged. Brin would kill him. Brax whatever knowledge he possessed. Lifeblood splattered over his hand when the tip of his claw pierced the soft tissue of one of the Grutex’s upper eyes.
“That’s enough!” Jun shouted, grabbing his arm in an attempt to pull him away. “He’s trying to get a rise out of you, and you played right into it!”
Raou threw his head back and an eerie laugh crawled up his throat as he watched them. His five remaining eyes stayed locked on Jun as she pressed her palm against Brin’s chest.
Through the haze of his anger, Brin heard the tinkling sound of music coming from the small bag Jun had brought in with her earlier. She rushed over to it, pulling out a primitive-looking comm device with a frown.
“Shit,” she grumbled before swiping a finger across the screen and pressing it to her ear. “Hello?”
Brin lunged for her, ripping the comm from her hand and smashing it against the wall. The device crumbled to the ground, and he crushed it beneath his heel for good measure.
“Was this not warning enough?” he bellowed, gesturing toward Raou, who looked on with unabashed amusement.
Jun stared down at her broken comm for a moment, her lips parted slightly as she took several deep breaths.
“Is this how you fix things on Venora?” she asked in a voice dripping with sarcasm. “What the hell is up with you aliens and your obsession with destroying things that don’t belong to you?”
“The signal that transmits can be tracked by anyone who knows to look for it. We have enough problems as it is without that adding more.”
“First of all,” Jun said with a deadly calm that sent a shiver down his spine, “you do not ever touch my property without my permission.” The tip of one small finger pressed into his chest. “Second, the call you just interrupted was from the hospital, the place where I work. That job keeps a roof over my head, puts food in my belly, and supports my entire family back home.” She punctuated each point with a jab of her finger. “And finally, you do not destroy things that do not belong to you!”
“It was not safe––”
“Then use your words, Brin!” Jun shouted. “How many languages has that little device in your head taught you? You’re telling me you can’t use any of them to explain why something in my home could put us in danger? I could have just told them I wasn’t going to make it in, but now I have to worry that I won’t even have a job to go back to once this is over with.”
“You aren’t leaving this dwelling,” Brin informed her, crossing his arms over his chest and doing his best to stand his ground against her anger.
“Is that so?” His little female practically spit the words at him. Her body vibrated with her rage as she took a step back. “Fuck you.”
“I won’t have you putting yourself in danger.”
“I’ve been in danger every single day from the moment the Grutex showed up! Today is no different—tomorrow will be no different!”
Jun spun away from him, hair flying around her shoulders as she stomped toward the door wearing nothing but a robe to cover her body.
“Stop!” he growled, but she didn’t listen. Why should she? he asked himself. You’ve done nothing but yell and make demands. You’ve become exactly what Brega and Tesol have taught you to be. The thought made him flinch, and he curled his hands into fists.
“Please,” he whispered. “Please don’t leave.”
“You can’t come into my home and just start making demands. I’m a grown woman, not a child. You either speak to me like one, or you don’t speak to me at all.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Brin cupped her face in his hands and leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers. “Forgive me, Shayfia. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something were to happen to you. He is not the only one out there searching for me, and I need you to trust that I am only doing what I must to keep you from falling into their hands.”
A heavy sigh fell from between her lips, and Jun reached up to wrap her hands around the braids that had fallen over his shoulders. “Was that so hard? Hmm?” She pulled back to look up into his face. “Use your words. Got it?”
Brin grinned down at his mate and nodded. “Yes, little Shayfia.”
Chapter 7
Jun
Waking up in her bed covered in sweat was really getting old. Sleeping in the same room where she shot a Grutex hours ago hadn’t been easy and had resulted in lots of tossing and turning.
Knowing Brin sat in her living room keeping watch while she slept clearly hadn’t quelled all of her anxiety. Her gun lay tucked beneath her pillow just in case she needed to face off with another intruder.
All those lessons at the range finally paid off. The bullet might not have done much damage, but she was thankful it had shocked the G
rutex long enough to allow Brin to burst in.
She looked down at the particleboard she had swept into the little trash can in the corner of the room and sighed. Losing her door was a small price to pay for her life.
Who knew what that male would have done with her if Brin hadn’t heard the gun fire? The fact that gunshots ringing out through the neighborhood had become so commonplace that none of her neighbors would have thought to call the cops was something Jun never thought she would be thankful for.
Pretty little breeder…
The memory of his words made her skin crawl. She’d rather die than be taken captive by those monsters, but she wasn’t going to let that brute out there get the best of her.
Jun had learned a long time ago not to let people know when you were scared. Her mama and papa had taught her that nothing stood in the way of determination, and she was more than determined to get out of this and make it back to Amanda.
There was so much to fill her friend in on, not the least of which was the kiss Brin had surprised her with. Maybe she was in the minority, but kissing someone you’d just met hours before seemed a little… rushed. The memory made her lips tingle, so she pressed them together and shook her head to dislodge the image from her mind.
She stepped through the Brin-sized hole in the door, peeking down the hallway to make sure no one was waiting for her, before creeping into the bathroom and locking the door.
The fact that this was now the only private room in her home had nearly prompted her to fill the tub with blankets and sleep in there.
It was still dark out, she noticed as she glanced through the blinds. She must not have slept very long at all. With her daily routine taken care of, Jun made her way to the kitchen, passing Brin, who sat on the edge of the sectional, watching the Grutex. He didn’t look up when she entered the room, but Raou’s eyes tracked her as she crossed the floor.
Don’t let him intimidate you, Junafer. He already knows he can use you against Brin. Don’t give him any more ammunition.
They hadn’t had anything to eat since Raou had showed up and Jun’s stomach grumbled, protesting the emptiness. He’d liked breakfast, so she decided to stick with what she knew.