18
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Myla
“Well, what did they think?” Tia looks up expectantly as I slide into a vacant chair opposite her.
It’s busy at the bar today; both Kintolf and Humans alike take up most of the tables. The noise level of laughter and buzz of multiple conversations forces me to raise my voice a little.
Tia waves at Jax, signaling for him to bring her a drink before focusing her attention entirely on me.
“I don’t think they were too impressed.” I sigh; I wish things could’ve gone more smoothly.
“I figured. If you could see the technology on their planet…” She shakes her head. “It blew me away.”
“I can’t imagine.”
Two drinks suddenly appear. Jax sets one down in front of me and slides the other over to Tia.
“Thanks, Jax,” she says with a smile.
“Yeah, thanks,” I add quietly, still feeling down.
“You ladies are welcome. Let me know if you want anything else.”
I watch as he casually strolls away, as if it’s not bustling in here today.
“Admit it, you need to live on Taugon with us,” Tia says. “The six of them are a force to be reckoned with.”
“You think?”
Tia scoffs. “Could you imagine Zeno and Bastian interrogating people together?”
“No.” I snort as I picture the two of them beating on some poor schmuck. “Speaking of interrogating, have you seen Andred and his team?”
There’s no love lost between him and my three guys, and the possibility of them killing Andred crosses my mind.
“I try to avoid them as much as possible.”
“Why?” I only take a tiny sip, not wanting the full force of vodka to hit me again.
“There’s something wrong with them. I was talking with Jax before you came in; he said they were here earlier today, and the two of them almost came to blows.”
“Jax and Andred?”
“Yes.”
“What about?”
“He said they treated him like a servant, then complained about the food, the drinks…” She shrugs. “Jax thought they were being all superior and picky because he’s Human.”
“Huh. At least Jax didn’t put up with it.”
“Jax is easy going until you push him over his tipping point.”
“Really? Jax?”
Tia nods. “Somehow, Andred is evading my guys. But just wait until Bastian gets ahold of him. He’ll set em’ all straight.”
“Hey, do you…” A loud bang startles us from somewhere down the hall. We look at each other in confusion. “What was that?”
Tia shakes her head. “I have no idea.”
Jax comes out from behind the bar, his eyes shifting all around while everyone else scoots back and rushes out of the bar/restaurant, leaving the three of us alone.
“Where did that bang come from?” Jax asks, eyebrows pulling low as he wipes his hands on a white towel.
At the same time, Tia and I push up from the table.
“Let’s go find out,” Tia says briskly as she heads toward the door.
Walking down the hallway, it’s chaos everywhere. Both Kintolf and Humans race toward us with panicked looks plastered on their faces. There’s smoke billowing at the end of the corridor, curling around the corner.
We stop, staring at the smoke.
“What’s happening?” I ask anxiously.
The thought of something that would make Kintolf run…
“I don’t know,” Tia replies.
When a smoky image appears like a ghost from the dead, I stare in disbelief.
This can’t be happening again. Please, not again.
One freaky looking alien with whiskers—a Cadus, as I have since learned they’re called—steps out from the smoke like some mystical creature, then another, then another.
Tia grabs my arm roughly. “Myla, we need to run!”
She spins and sprints away, followed by me and Jax. Sounds of laser fire swish past my ears.
“They’re trying to kill us!” I cry.
“This way!” Tia’s voice trails behind her as she turns first left, then right down another corridor.
Glancing over my shoulder, I heave out, “I think we lost them!”
Tia abruptly stops in front of a small metal grate with square cutouts. Not wasting any time, she grips both sides and rips it off the wall, leaving a hollow opening.
Bending down, Tia crawls inside, followed by me, then Jax. My breath hitches at the sheer enormity of it. A small metal platform, around three feet wide, circles the edges on each floor, which are connected by metal ring ladders. The expanse is large, a true demonstration of the exact size of the ship.
“Come on,” Tia urges, turning toward the wall and grabbing the metal ladder, hauling herself upward one ring at a time.
“Where are we going?” I call after her as I grab the first ring to follow.
“Up a section.” When she reaches the top, she steps to the side and waits for me and Jax.
Joining her on the platform, I dust my hands on my pants. “Where does this lead to?”
“The crew’s quarters. Not that I’m ever allowed up here.”
Tia looks a little annoyed, or maybe frustrated about our current situation; it’s really hard to tell.
“Why’s that?” I ask.
Jax snorts, and I focus my attention on him instead. “Have you seen those three guys of hers? I’m surprised they haven’t ripped me apart yet.”
I scrunch my nose. “They’re that jealous?”
“No,” she grins over her shoulder, “that protective. I’ve had one or two near fatal incidents, so they try to keep me safe.”
Looking around at the vacant, mechanical workings of the ship, I wonder aloud, “Shouldn’t we just stay here for now?”
“No way!” Tia and Jax chime in unison.
“What if Bastian, Moak, or Serkan need me?” Tia adds.
“This is what I’ve been training for. I’m not hiding out like a coward.” Jax crosses his arms and I’m not sure if I just insulted him or not.
Does that make me a coward because I don’t want to go out there? Those, those— aliens —were the ones who attacked the Earth transport ship and sold me to the Acradidia . Are they looking for me, or is this some random attack? It doesn’t matter. I am not, I repeat, not going back!
Using the heel of his boot, Jax kicks the small covering away, kneels and crawls through the opening. Looking both directions, he calls back over his shoulder. “It’s clear!”
Tia crawls out next, then me, albeit reluctantly. Following Jax, Tia and I practically dance on our tiptoes after him and into someone’s quarters. I’m guessing it’s his.
He strides over and jerks open a closet door, reaches up top and grabs two weapons. After handing one to me and one to Tia, he grabs a third for himself.
Unlike the ones on the Acradidia home-world, this stun gun appears Earth-made.
“Let’s go,” he says, leading the way.
It’s eerily quiet as we head down the deserted corridor, both my and Tia’s guns pointed toward the ceiling. The last thing we want to do is accidentally shoot Jax. Nearing the lift, sounds of fighting drift upward, along with the smoky smell of discharged lasers and charred metal.
Tia and Jax exchange a look before they shift their eyes to me. Without a word, Jax takes point, leading the way to a hidden staircase, heading down to the action.
Seeing the fight quickens my heart. The Human crew are fighting with lasers; the Kintolf are all shifted and fighting with teeth and claws.
The three of us rush closer, aiming at any Cadus we see apart from the crew. Heaven forbid we miss and hit one of our own.
Sounds of growls and snarls echo off the metal walls. The noise of flesh being ripped apart...it’s all overwhelming to watch as my head whips back and forth from one gruesome scene to another.
Even knowing how capable they are, I’m worried sick about Tekil, Vi’del, and Zeno. I try to catch site of them— any of them. Blood splatters on the wall, lines race to the floor. The smell of death clogs my nose. When I see a Cadus raise his weapon, my eyes follow his arm. He’s pointing it at Zeno’s animal form.
All fear vanishes as I suck in a deep breath, my lips peeling back. A growl tears loose from my throat.
Tekil spins, his eyes locking with my wild gaze. Quickly dismissing him, my eyes slide past his shoulder at the one who dares to harm Zeno, and I rush forward to attack.
With Tekil’s eyes shifting between me and the Cadus who is aiming at Zeno, he suddenly leaps into the air and morphs into his animal form— fully shifted. It all happens so fast... My heart swells with pride as he attacks the Cadus, tearing an arm from its furry body.
Tekil is utterly ruthless, finally embracing his animal side as he fights alongside Zeno and Vi’del. As I stand mesmerized, they are all beautiful to behold.
When all the Cadus lay dead, most of the Kintolf change back to natural form—all naked. But I only have eyes for Tekil, Vi’del, and Zeno, standing there with spattered blood covering each of them from neck to chest.
Swallowing hard, I quickly scan for injuries. There’s a few cuts and scratches, and some areas will definitely bruise, but nothing life-threatening.
Zeno takes one step closer, then freezes when Tia squeaks. A hand grabs my neck and yanks me backward.
Shifting my eyes sideways, I see Hitak behind Tia, his hand around her throat.
Zeno, Tekil, and Vi’del start toward me; I also see Bastian, Moak, and Serkan poised to pounce. Rage radiates from every pore of the six men.
“That is close enough,” a deep voice from the one holding me hostage rumbles.
I’ve heard it before. Andred .
“Did you think I would go back to living on a planet under the rule of anyone from the Ruling Quad?” he sneers.
Moak takes a step forward, his eyes locked on the hand circling Tia’s throat. “It’s not like that Andred,” he says in a deceptively reasonable tone. “We have explained that to you.”
“You think I would believe you? Believe your lies? Look who controls this ship!” Andred spats.
Hearing the venom in his voice, I know this is not going to end well.
With his fists balled at his sides, Zeno steps forward, causing Andred to squeeze my throat a little tighter, his fingers digging in.
“Don’t make me kill you,” Zeno warns, his eyes glued to my throat.
“You would like that.”
Andred grips me even tighter; now it’s beginning to be painful. My instinct is to claw his hand away, but I know that’s useless. There must be another way!
“At least I can take the thing you treasure most and know that in the end, I still win,” Andred says cruelly, squeezing my throat so that I’m almost gasping for breath now. I hear Tia clawing at Hitak beside me as he cuts off her air.
This can’t be happening! I’ve been through way too much, finally found happiness and I will not let Andred take it away from me, or hurt the people I love!
Instead of crying like a bumbling idiot, my rage blurs my vision. That aggressive part of me created by the Acradidia surges and instead of trying to control it, I let it consume me. My gums tingle, my fingers hurt and then for the first time, I feel each finger on my right hand transform to a claw. I know what I need to do. My eyes land on Zeno, who is now staring at my hand in visible astonishment.
As my head turns fuzzy from lack of oxygen, I slowly reach behind to grab Andred’s cock and squeeze—hard—but only enough for him to let go of my throat.
It works and I gulp in a huge breath, keeping my clawed hand in place.
“Tell Hitak to let her go,” I growl, “or I swear I’ll castrate you before they kill you.”
“Let her go,” Andred commands. It comes out a little high pitched and then he releases my neck completely.
Zeno sprints over, pulling me into his arms while Tekil and Vi’del grab hold of Andred.
It’s the same for Tia. Serkan embraces her while the other two grab Hitak.
But where is Soav?
Glancing around at the bloody mess and lifeless bodies, I spot Soav laying in a puddle of blood, eyes fixed open. And then I see…
“Oh no!” I cry, trying to wiggle out of Zeno’s arms. “Let me loose!”
Jax is laying on his left side, blood spreading out around him.
Moak is there in two seconds, scooping Jax up. “He’s alive. I’m taking him to Medical for the Human doctor to look at him.” Looking at Bastian, he says, “find out who hired the Cadus . I don’t care how you get the answers, just get them. This has to stop.”
Bastian nods.
Whispering in Zeno’s ear, I ask, “What’s he talking about?”
“Someone hired the Cadus to either kill or kidnap Tia.”
“My God, why?”
“That’s what they need to find out—who and why.”