Chapter 3
There was an intruder in my cell. How they’d gotten inside without me hearing the creak of the door, I didn’t know. All that mattered was that my territory, small though it was, had been invaded.
This cell was all I had, and they couldn’t even let me have these four walls to myself?
My mind was swamped with fury and chemicals, the ever-looming blood rage ready to take control of my body once again.
I sucked in a breath, my nostrils flaring as I prepared to bring my hoof down on the much smaller creature huddled in front of me.
The scent of salt and flowers and musk hit me like a charge blast.
My blood rage shriveled in my veins, my mind clearing so fast my knees buckled from the sudden loss of strength. That scent, it was overwhelming. Long-forgotten instincts roused for the first time since my capture and my mind emerged from the haze I’d fallen into.
It was the scent of a female. In my cell.
I snorted in another breath, peering down at her as my vision filled with the color my rage had stolen. My jaw flexed, opening just enough to suck in another breath and taste the air.
Definitely female. Young and ungentled.
In my cell.
My mind was reeling, my numb brain working harder than it had in years as I wrestled with this unexpected situation.
She wasn’t turoch. I had no idea what planet or people she hailed from. She was small and pale, with wide hazel eyes, a small mouth and a sharp chin. Golden brown hair was shorn at her eyebrows, the rest tied behind her small head.
All her skin was bare, save a strip of fabric over her small breasts and a bit over her cunt.
I stepped closer, drinking in every detail of the female.
Her slim arms were wiry and toned with muscle, despite their narrowness, and her collarbone stood out as she braced her hands behind her on the floor.
She was watching me just as closely as I watched her. I breathed her scent in again, mulling over every note for some hint of her origin or thoughts. She smelled of stress, hunger, and pain. But not fear.
My ears swiveled toward her as I repeated the realization.
Somehow, this tiny, half-naked female wasn’t terrified of me. Everyone feared me. Guards pissed themselves walking up to my cell door. Doctors vomited when I glared at them. Turochs fell on their own weapons to avoid facing me on the synth sands.
I was fear.
I deserved their fear, I’d earned it.
And yet, this defenseless female was staring me in the face, small jaw set, eyes sparking in challenge as I inspected her. My gaze dipped down her toned thighs and hitched when I saw the abrupt ending of her right leg.
A curving pink scar marked where her calf and foot had once been attached. This female had seen battle and survived. And still she didn’t fear me.
My nostrils flared as I greedily pulled in her scent again.
I didn’t know what twist of fate had brought me this female, but just the smell of her cleared my head.
I was thinking clearer than I had in years.
The numb, resigned rage that fueled my nightmare life was burning away under a wave of desire and curiosity as I stared into those stubborn hazel eyes.
She lifted her chin and sneered at me.
“Well, are you gonna shit or get off the pot?” she barked.
I cocked my head to the side, wondering if my translator stopped working and I hadn’t noticed.
The female pushed herself upright, balancing easily on her one foot, and squared her shoulders as she stared up at me. Fearless.
“Are you going to kill me?” There wasn’t a hint of worry in her voice.
I shook my head, trying to remember what it felt like to form more than roars and snarls with my voice.
Her sparking eyes dipped to my cock, almost permanently erect from the constant enhancements the scientist inflicted on me. I’d long ago learned to ignore the ache.
“Are you going to rape me?”
I shook my head again, but didn’t bother covering my cock. She’d already seen it, and despite its size and threatening hardness, she hadn’t flinched back.
I was strangely proud of this female, she had a spine of iron.
One golden brow quirked, disappearing behind the fringe of hair covering her forehead and she crossed her arms.
“If you’re not going to kill me or rape me, can I have your food?” She nodded at the meal tray I’d been ignoring since this morning. My appetite was as lackluster as my cock was hard and food had long since lost its appeal. Even knowing I was fed better than most syto officers didn’t help.
I strode to the tray and grabbed it, crowding the female into the nearest corner with my body. The closer I got, the more intense her scent grew and I closed my eyes, reveling in the change from the blood, sweat and terror that usually filled my nose.
Her back hit the wall and she eyed me warily. I handed her the tray and crouched in front of her, the change in position bringing me closer to eye level with the female I’d trapped in the corner.
She ground her jaw, staring at the tray of food and then my face, before she sighed and lowered herself to the floor, crossing her shortened leg over her opposite knee and letting her remaining foot settle just inches from me.
“You’re being a creep,” she muttered, “But thanks for the food.”
My ears pricked as she took a long gulp of the water and moaned. I had no idea what to do with a female, let alone an alien female with half a leg and the nerves of a warrior. But something told me I’d figure it out.