Chapter 4
Maya
Maya’s heart pumped so hard in her chest, she thought it would burst. Her lungs burned, and she cursed every lazy afternoon she’d spent curled up with extra cheesy nachos instead of hitting the treadmill.
But how the hell could she have known she’d end up on an alien planet running from freaking pterodactyls?
The absurdity of it all would’ve made her laugh if she weren’t actually running for her life with a dragus pup in her arms.
The shuttle was only about fifteen feet from the door, which was the closest Ranek could land because of the overhang, but somehow, by the time they’d gotten the ship’s hatch opened, two of the flying creatures stood between them and the door.
These were smaller than the beasts that had attacked her pod, but no less terrifying.
Their eyes seemed to glow in the shuttle’s light, and their claws made scraping sounds on the hard ground.
The worst part? It was getting dark enough now that she was effectively blind and all they had to work with were the lights from the shuttle. Shadows stretched long, and every flicker of movement made her flinch.
But when Ranek had yelled “Run!” and pointed her in the right direction, run she had. Her legs obeyed before her brain caught up, muscles screaming as she sprinted, clutching Commander Chaos tightly. Fear drove her faster than she’d ever moved in her life.
She and Commander Chaos were now smashed against a set of double doors, as Ranek faced off against one of the winged creatures. All she could see was the occasional flash of claws and teeth, all punctuated with vicious sounds.
Instead of running with her, Ranek followed behind, fighting off the alien pterodactyls.
And ever eager to join in the craziness, Commander Chaos struggled to be let down so he could run in and help! Didn’t he understand that he’d just get gobbled up immediately? He wasn’t big enough to fight. And even if he was, their kind hunted and fought in packs.
With the squirming future menace in her arms, she tugged on the doors.
Ranek had said he’d left them unlocked. But the doors barely budged, and she was tiring.
Her palms slipped on the metal handle, and frustration bubbled up.
She wanted to scream, but all that came out was a desperate grunt as she tugged hard, throwing her weight into it.
There was a deep resonant roar that she felt all the way down to her bones, followed by a loud squeal.
Then Ranek was there. He seized the door handle, dragging it with her, and together they shoved their way inside.
The portal slammed shut, the weight of it resisting as heavy forms landed against the metal outside, shoving back with enough force to rattle them both.
But the door was heavy, and Ranek was strong, and they were soon safe behind the thick metal. There was the sound of metal against metal and something heavy settling into place, locking them inside. She sagged against the door, trembling with relief.
It was dark inside, and she blinked, straining to make out the forms in the shadow.
“Are you hurt?” Ranek’s voice came from directly in front of her.
Rough hands moved over her arms, her shoulders, her waist, searching for wounds.
The touch was firm, thorough, and every brush of his fingers sent sparks dancing across her skin.
Heat pooled low in her belly, her body betraying her with a rush of lust that had her squeezing her legs together.
Her mind screamed at her to focus, but dizzy with desire, her pulse raced, and her body refused to listen.
She sucked in a breath, shocked and a little furious at herself for her totally inappropriate reaction. They had just escaped being eaten alive for fuck’s sake; this was not the time.
“I’m… I’m okay, I think.”
Ranek growled, and the sound only spiked her lust, especially when he buried his face into her neck and inhaled sharply. “Stars, female! You are the death of me.”
His words sounded odd, like he couldn’t pronounce them properly, and Maya immediately knew why. He’d gone into bloodlust to fight the creatures.
Maya shuddered. Bloodlust was what some Talleans called the berserker-like state they went into when fighting.
Not all Talleans went into bloodlust, but when they did, it gave them enhanced senses and improved reaction time.
Their fangs elongated, and their cheek creases unfolded so they could take on beasts much larger than themselves.
She’d seen it many times back on Reka 5, but usually it was because they were protecting the colony.
The altered state also tended to make them crave sexual release, since the wiring for violence and sex was a little crossed in their species, as it was in some humans.
Back at the colony, there’d been plenty of women, human and Tallean, willing and excited to help “calm” the males after bloodlust.
But there wasn’t anyone else here. And Ranek hadn’t been protecting the colony, he’d been protecting her!
Would that mean he’d want her to…
Commander Chaos snarled and lunged at the Tallean, and fear for the pup’s safety had Maya scrambling after it. She really didn’t know this guy. What if he took it out on the pup?
“I’m so sorry!”
There was movement, and the lights suddenly turned on. She squinted, and her arms went up to cover her eyes as her pupils adjusted to the light. When she lowered them, what she saw had her inhaling sharply.
The mining station was trashed. A thick layer of dust coated some of the surfaces, and debris littered the floor.
There were discarded tools and random papers everywhere.
The pipes overhead dripped, and the ceiling sagged in places.
The walls were in no better state. There were claw marks marring them, and the culprit, the skeleton of one of the alien pterodactyls, lay crumbled in the corner.
The air was still and smelled of mildew and rust.
A few storage crates with much less dust sat stacked against the opposite walls, clearly having been moved there more recently.
Ranek stood behind a counter, still stuck halfway in blood lust. His cheek creases had started to refold, but his fangs were still extended.
He looked for all the world like the predator his species was.
He’d gotten his hands on Commander Chaos and was holding him down on the counter, an amused smile on his face.
It looked terrifying with his fangs still out.
“Relax, little one. I mean your human no harm.” He turned to Maya. “Your dragus pup is very protective.”
“He’s had a tough day. We both have.”
“I’d say. Now, female, tell me how you ended up in a swamp on Fortuna II.”
She did, starting with her planned trip to New Rhea, the words spilling out faster than she intended, and finally ending with the crash into the muddy water.
As she talked, Commander Chaos calmed as he realized that Ranek wasn’t about to hurt either of them.
He hopped down from the counter and started exploring the place.
“And then you showed up and hauled me out. And here we are,” she finished.
Ranek looked pensive. “You said you were attacked by pirates. Friends of mine were sent to this planet once after they were locked inside an escape pod masquerading as a storage room. Pirates awaited them when they landed. Are you sure the pod wasn’t programmed on purpose to come here?”
That had Maya frowning. “But that would mean the delivery company would’ve been in on it.” Her eyes went wide. Faith! Faith was still with them! “I need to contact my friend! Does any of the equipment here still work?”
She felt silly the moment she asked the question.
Of course they didn’t. This place looked like it hadn’t been used in decades.
She was surprised there was even light, though Tallean light tubes often outlived the person who bought them, and this place was probably powered by solar energy.
But having power didn’t mean the equipment would still be working.
“No. But you can call from my comm.”
Well, duh. Why hadn’t that even crossed her mind? She clearly needed sleep.
“But first, let’s get you settled down and cleaned up.”
She looked down at her wet, bedraggled state.
Mud was streaked across her arms, and her shirt clung damply to her skin.
Her hair was wet and plastered to her face.
Plus, it was chilly, and she’d really like to get clean and dry.
Commander Chaos probably needed a good dunk too, and not in muddy swamp water.
Luckily for her, dragus pups loved water and treated bath time as play time.
Ranek turned and gestured for her to follow.
“There’s a working water cleansing unit this way.
” He led her through the narrow corridor and into a room with the Tallean glyphs for first aid on the door.
When the door slid open, the scent of sterilized air hit her, sharp and clean and in complete contrast to the musty corridors.
Whatever was sterilizing the air in here was still functional.
The cleansing unit was huge, big enough for both her and Commander Chaos to get clean at the same time, which was probably for the best because she didn’t trust him to explore the abandoned station on his own. Who knew what type of trouble he could get into.
“The clothing decontaminator is not functioning, but the cleansing unit works. I will return with clean clothes for you as well as our dinner. The creatures should be gone now that they can no longer reach us. If you scream, I will come. I have good hearing.”
Then Ranek turned, leaving her and Commander Chaos in the old infirmary.
“Come on, buddy,” she said, stripping off her muddied top. “Let’s get clean.”
Ranek