Chapter 5
Iam a fool, the epitome of idiocy. What makes me think that I can escape? Why do I think that I will be able to go prancing across an alien landscape with barely anything to wear? A complete and utter fool.
Grimacing, I step on yet another wretched, pointy rock. By now, I’ve lost track of how many clumsy stumbles and cringe-inducing missteps I make on this little adventure. I’d like to think I am heading in the right direction, but truth be told, I am utterly lost.
My surroundings are as unfamiliar as that one Martian opera I sat through once. I can’t help but feel slightly miffed at my supposed sense of navigation. The only reason I dare to venture beyond the secured confines of the colony and its well-established trail is my cocky belief that I can simply follow the ominous cliff-line back as a trusty guide. Alas, I don’t have the faintest clue where those cliffs are in relation to my current, perplexing position.
If I can just scale this hill, perhaps I can get a clearer view of the land and determine in which direction to drag my sorry self...
My breath ragged, I lean against the deceitfully crumbly rock for a moment. Sweat clings to my skin like a thick, uncomfortable film, only to be chilled by the icy breeze that nips at me with unapologetic fervor.
Trudging onwards, I press myself against the hillside until the terrain morphs into a cruel incline. I venture along a narrow ledge, eyes desperate for a promising place to climb.
Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet betrays me, crumbling so fast it essentially disintegrates.
Yelping, I flail my arms in a futile attempt to defy gravity. But karma has other plans. It’s all for naught. My feet slip, and I am wrenched into a terrifying, unintended descent.
These rocks, though seemingly fragile and crumbly upon touch, transform into merciless, flesh-shredding demons upon impact. My tender skin is scratched and gouged by every cruel, stony surface. My legs, hips, stomach, and—heavens forbid—even the undersides of my breasts become their unwilling victims. As if that isn’t enough, a particularly greedy plant ensnares my hair and tears it from my scalp with ruthless glee.
My poor battered body finally splashes into a puddle, the water’s icy shock sucking my breath away. Clawing my way to the edge, I manage to emerge onto dry land. Yet now I tremble uncontrollably. My teeth clatter, even when I clench my jaw shut.
My solitary, stolen blanket—barely a protection against the elements—now lies in tattered shreds, cold and soggy. Utterly useless, like so much else today.
Surely my luck cannot get any worse...
But I am wrong, of course. Drifting through the air, as oppressive as an icy hand clenched around my heart, comes a bloodcurdling howl. This is no beastly cry; it is a guttural shriek from a tormented being. This is the primal scream of a being wounded. It is the battle cry of someone prepared to seek revenge. It only bolsters my resolve: I will not—no, I cannot—be owned by such a monstrous creature. Begrudgingly abandoning the sad remnants of my blanket, I stumble onward, frantically searching for a way to crest the hill. If I can just reach the colony...
I hate how I just want to go home, like a small child seeking comfort in their mother’s arms. A sob escapes my parched lips as distant voices carry through the wind. I recognize the language. English! Fellow humans are somewhere beyond this blasted hill.
Gritting my teeth, I press onward. I just need to find my way home. I inch forward, scrabbling at the ground in front of me, like I am searching for buried treasure, desperately trying to climb the improbably steep, stubborn land. My fingernails dig into the soft soil, shredding it as I drag my body forward. Plants yield to my determined grip, yanked free of their roots as I struggle to keep myself from sliding back down the slope like a human landslide.
So close to success! So close to safety.
Suddenly, arms wrap around my waist, my body is airborne as I am lifted up and away from the ground. I squeal in a most unflattering manner.
“Ariana!” growls the beast from my nightmares. His hands grip my waist in a seemingly unbreakable hold. Taccit scoops me up and carries me further from the other human beings.
“No! Help!” A pathetic cry stumbles out of my lips, followed by weak attempts to bat him away, which are about as effective as swatting at a rabid grizzly bear with one of those limp foam pool noodles. “Please, don’t hurt me.”
It is then that I realize, for the first time in my life, I am utterly vulnerable to a male. Will he beat me for daring to disobey his command?
However, he doesn’t toss me to the ground like unwanted garbage. Instead, with surprising gentleness, he swings my body around as if I weigh no more than a feathery pillow and guides me into a sitting position. My hands cling to the log beneath me, helpless as small bits of bark crumble under my fingertips, the remnants lodging beneath what is left of my nails.
Sobs wrack my body as I cower before him.
“Just do it!” I say, nerves stretched thin. “Stop torturing me. Just end it. Please.”
Yet nothing happens.
As seconds tick by, I am forced to peer up at him through blurry vision, tears streaming down my face. I shrink back from the ominous arch of his dark eyebrows. He looks furious.
“It’s me, my little Nika,” he says. “You are safe. I am here now. I won’t let you get hurt again.”
I hesitantly wrap my arms around my midriff, trying to shield my scratched and bruised body from his intense gaze. There is so much bare skin revealed, and it has been ages since anyone has seen me in such a state. I feel utterly exposed, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
Slowly, carefully, he kneels before me like a knight paying reverence to his queen. By now, I’m shaking uncontrollably. I don’t know whether I’m quaking in fear or simply reacting to the chill in the air. Apparently, neither does he.
“You’re cold,” he says, his arms gathering me close in a heated embrace. Beneath his touch, I tense, my heart somehow jumping into my throat. But, in no time at all, Taccit’s warmth starts to permeate my frozen body, and I turn to him, clinging to the blessed relief he provides.
His hand tenderly brushes my hair aside, and goosebumps erupt on my skin. His smoldering touch on my bare flesh feels like a brand searing into me, yet simultaneously comforting.
At that moment, I’ve never been more confused in my life. Why isn’t he tearing me apart like a wild animal? These aren’t the actions of a crazed monster. Instead, he behaves as if he genuinely cares about me and my well-being.
His hand continues its languid journey along my back, and it seems I’ve misplaced my ability to tell him to stop. Worse (or perhaps not), his heated caress sends fiery tingles racing through my body, culminating in a burning desire deep within. It feels like an eternity since anyone has touched me so tenderly.
“Why won’t you let me go?” I say, weakly pulling back just far enough to catch a glimpse of his face.
In that moment, Taccit looks into my eyes, and it seems as if he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He stares back at me, a sad, defeated gaze locked into my own.
“Because I need you.”
* * *
Taccit’s words haunt me,playing on repeat in my head like a broken record. He needs me? My mind whirls with questions, yet none of them manage to make their way to my lips.
The frosty air doesn’t help, seeping into my skin, freezing me from the outside in and making it hard to think. My brain just wants to focus on my need for heat.
With all the strength I can muster, I open my mouth to ask him something — anything, really. Alas, my brain betrays me, tangled up in a web of thoughts. I snap my mouth shut and take a good, long look at him.
His claws are like tiny scythes, and their gentle grazes along my ankle send shivers crawling up my legs. This is an utterly unexpected reaction, one I ought not to have. Yet, a caress is still a caress, no matter who provides it. Despite their menacing nature, he has never used them to hurt or maim me. In fact, he has done quite the opposite: healing me, shielding me when I was sick, and even attempting to provide for me.
He is so different from me, and yet... we have far more in common than I’d ever thought.
His eyes are lined with little creases, revealing the weight of many thoughts, concerns, and emotions. A prominent wrinkle rests between his brows, begging to be smoothed away. He frowns—a lot. Those all-too-human eyes gaze at me, tinged with hints of desperation, fear, and uncertainty.
It’s a look I know all too well. I’ve seen it on my own face plenty of times when I catch my reflection in the mornings.
His green hide, while thicker than that of any human, is pliable, rolling with the punches—his smiles and movements. And oh, his smile is a sight to see! Sure, it’s borderline terrifying with those razor-sharp dentures of his, and it does appear a tad mechanical, as if he isn’t quite used to employing his facial muscles that way. Yet, there’s a certain handsomeness to his features when they lighten with pleasure. A rakish man up to mischief—in all the good ways. It certainly seems like he has only taken up this mysterious art of smiling in an attempt to set me at ease—or at least give it a go.
An inexplicable tug in my chest, a magnetic force, pulls me toward this strange creature. I keep wondering if he isn’t the monster I’d pegged him to be. Time and time again, I have disregarded that idea. Perhaps there is a spark of goodness within him. Perhaps it’s my fault, not his, in this miscommunicated situation. After all, his only crime has been to tie me up. Wouldn’t I have done the same in his shoes? Suddenly, Taccit lunges towards me, his large hand clamping over my mouth. Before I know it, he’s hoisting me up into his arms and dragging me into the surrounding tree line. My back finds itself intimately acquainted with a silvery tree trunk, and I feel the rough bark dig into my skin with cold fingers. Instinctively, I try to distance myself from the unwanted chill, only to snuggle up even closer to Taccit. In a peculiar turn of events, Taccit’s warmth and sturdiness provide a strange comfort, enveloping me like a cocoon. He traps me between his arms, enveloping me in his warmth like a comforting blanket.
As his body presses heavily against mine, a sudden “ahoy there!” from an eager part of his anatomy greets me. The thick bar of his cock pressing against my sensitive flesh should not feel this good.
This is wrong. Very, very wrong. Isn’t it?
In a desperate attempt to free myself, I squirm against him.
Meanwhile, Taccit’s hand muffles my yelps. I can’t pry it away, and my fingers hopelessly wrap around his much larger wrists.
Taccit edges nearer, his warm breath fluttering against my ear and neck. “Don’t worry, my Nika. I will kill to protect you,” he says.
Uh, what is he even talking about? If anything, I need protection from him!
His body inches even closer to mine, making me groan. The material of his pants rubs against my clit and sensitive skin.
I bite down on my lip as his shirt grazes my pert nipples, sending what feels like tiny lightning bolts zapping through my body in the most confusingly delightful way.
This is all kinds of messed up! There is no way I can be attracted to him. I am not attracted to my captor like some Stockholm victim.
I want to push him aside, but the chilly air is creeping in and his body is so delightfully warm.
Determined, I wiggle until I free my mouth from his grasp.
I draw in deep, much-needed breaths, and am greeted by a rich, intoxicating scent—a mix of pine needles and freshly turned soil. It is a smell I know well, having spent my life working on farms; curiously, it has a comforting effect. In this bizarro world moment, I feel safe, even while being held against this tree against my oh-so-feeble will.
Then, I hear them—the voices. Everything comes rushing back to me. Taccit’s grand entrance had completely overshadowed the humans, rendering them totally irrelevant in my mind.
“I don’t see anything here. There’s no sign of her,” I immediately know that voice belongs to Maya’s husband, James Lewis. It sounds slightly distant, as if he’s standing atop the small rise I’d tried (and failed) to climb just moments before. Only hunters venture beyond the safety of the town, and this man would be armed to the teeth and more than capable of rescuing me.
All I need to do is catch his attention and my emancipation from this extraterrestrial barbarian will be a done deal.”Ariana must be out here somewhere.” I freeze. Now that’s Walter’s voice. What on earth could he possibly be doing out in the wild? Walter is the epitome of a clean freak, terrified of getting even a single spot of dirt on his fancy clothes. So what brings him into the great outdoors? Has he come looking for me? Perhaps I’ve been wrong about him all this time?
Taccit looks down at me, his eyes locking onto mine. He tilts his head back, and I can’t help but notice his nostrils flaring like some kind of alien bloodhound. “I just hope the beast hasn’t got her,” Walter calls out to the others.
My eyes nearly pop out of my head. Walter knows about Taccit? He must have come armed for a showdown. I quickly glance up at Taccit’s face. As much as I don’t want to be in this situation, I also can’t bear the thought of him being harmed.
Taccit shoots a glare in the direction of the humans like a bull eyeing a matador. I don’t know if I need to be more worried about him or the humans.
“Well, if the beast’s already got her, I say cut our losses. She’s as good as dead,” James says, his casual dismissal sending an icy shiver down my spine. They’re just going to abandon me? Not even bothering to find out if I’m alive or dead?
Walter curses under his breath, his voice sounding dangerously close. “Just find her, James. I need her alive. At least until the marriage is certified.”
My scowl rivals Taccit’s. Needing me only for marriage? That’s not what someone says when they genuinely care about another person.
James mutters something under his breath, which is barely audible. Nonetheless, it seems to tickle the funny bones of some of the other men, who burst out laughing.
“What was that?” I can practically see Walter’s growing rage, his face twisting into various shades of red.
“I said you might need pointers on how to seduce a woman!” James finally blurts out.
A sudden hush sweeps over the group, so quiet that I can hear every breath I take. Taccit’s steady inhales and exhales whisper past my ear, and warmth from his body seeps into me. I press closer to him, though I try convincing myself that I’m only after some extra warmth. It isn’t because I’m confused and need comfort.
Walter stews. “Let’s just focus on finding her. After I get what I need, she can be thrown back to the beasts for all I care. It’s not like someone from a lower tier would make a good wife.”
I try to hold back my tears, but the injustice overcomes me, and they spill down my cheeks. Does nobody care about me at all? Taccit lets out a barely audible growl. The sensation dances around my core, momentarily distracting me.
“I want to know where the beast is living. Hunt him down. Make sure to find any of his family too. I don’t want any of them around.”
I shudder. How could my people be so cruel? Taccit is more than some animal; he is a sentient being. The thought of them murdering him and his family is absolutely horrifying.”And for heaven’s sake, watch what you say at the colony. We can’t let it get out that there are sentient aliens living here. I don’t want another Eve incident,” he says.
The mere mention of Eve sends a chill seeping deeper into my soul. She disappeared into thin air. James—Maya’s husband—discovered her destroyed campsite, with wild beasts presumably to blame. That’s why the colony council decided to build walls around our new home and keep the people inside them for protection.
Only, I discover that everything I have been led to believe isn’t true. My surroundings fade away as a realization settles over me: someone—possibly human, perhaps alien—has killed my friend Eve.
My life might very well be next.