Chapter 37
Arrazyl had spent the last two days holed up in his office with his brother, Kyvar, some warriors, and now Zyroth.
I hadn’t met any of them and spent my days with Thyra and my nights being woken late when Arrazyl came in and ravaged me.
To say I was sore was an understatement, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
“Tell me about the marking claim.” I asked Thyra as she sat in a plush chair fussing while I got dressed.
That seemed to pull her away from an oncoming panic attack.
“Well, it is more than physical. A male releases his mark inside his true mate and while it burns a piece of him inside of her, it also is like a mark on the soul. There are a lot of different parts of the bond I’ll tell you about later.
” She got to her feet and helped me pull on a tight shirt over my tank.
“Are you sure about this?” She fretted as she adjusted the thin material that hardly seemed bulletproof.
“Yes.”
“Arrazyl won’t like it.”
“Arrazyl doesn’t have to.”
Her fangs bore into her bottom lip. “You are his mate now. He will be more protective.”
“That doesn’t mean he can keep me from doing anything I want to.” I turned to pick up the laser rifle Thyra had procured for me.
“Unless he ties you up,” she muttered behind me.
“He knows that would break my trust, and he doesn’t want to do that again.”
She breathed a heavy breath through her nose. “I’m worried about you.”
I turned to her. “I have to do this.”
“I wish there was an easier way.”
I smiled faintly, “my life stopped being easy the moment I trusted the Consortium.”
She reached a wing out and curled it around me in a vorpyr version of a hug. “Be safe.”
“I’ll try. Thank you for everything.”
“Don’t say that. It makes it sound like you’re not coming back.”
“It’s nothing like that. I just wanted to let you know I appreciate you.” It was partially true, at least.
“Just be careful.”
I had to hurry so there was time for the inevitable conflict that would ensue.
My stomach flipped when I approached the door to Arrazyl’s office.
I swallowed down the nerves and knocked on the door before stepping inside.
I’d gone into meetings and spoken at conferences with mainly men, so I shouldn’t have been intimidated, but when all eyes swung to me, my heart kicked in my chest.
“I apologize for interrupting, but I wanted to make it known that I will be going with you.” My voice came out firm.
Arrazyl’s eyes blazed, and he stepped toward me. “Absolutely not.”
“I’m not asking. This involves me, it always has. Besides, I’d like to find out if Jaron and Tatiana made it back to Earth safely.”
“This is the female?” A vorpyr with purple eyes so much like Thyra’s came toward me. Arrazyl growled, halting him in his tracks.
The vorpyr with unnerving red eyes, tattoos running up his neck and arms, and black horns ignored the warning rumble and came right up to me.
I had to crane my head back to look at him.
I held his gaze. He leaned down and drew in a deep breath.
A crash sounded as both Kyvar and the purple eyed vorpyr grabbed onto Arrazyl as he lunged forward, bearing his fangs.
Red Eyes smirked and straightened. “I meant no offence, Vorazyr. I didn’t realize you were new enough in your relationship to still be in a mating frenzy.” He tilted his head and continued to regard me. “This is not what I expected.”
Arrazyl pushed the other two off him and came to stand at my side, body tense.
“My name is Jacqueline. I’m sorry we had to meet under these circumstances.”
“Zyroth, I’m the Vorazyr of a neighboring territory.”
I nodded once, then looked up at Arrazyl, who was seething. “I don’t want to put anyone in danger, so maybe I should be at the back when you go inside?”
“You’re putting yourself in danger,” he snarled.
“Arrazyl.” I said softly, conscious of the watchful eyes. He growled, but it wasn’t threatening, it was frustrated. I placed a hand on his arm. “I have to do this.”
“She may have a weak little body, but she is showing vorpyr spirit.” Zyroth commented. I thought Arrazyl might lunge at him again and squeezed his arm before dropping my hand.
“I forbid it.”
“You can’t keep me from doing what I need to.” I said gently.
His eyes were stormy when his gaze met mine. “You will stick close to me.”
“I think I should stick close to someone else.” I would not be responsible for him getting hurt because I distracted him.
“I’ll take care of her.” The purple eyed vorpyr with three earrings, one so long it almost touched his shoulder, spoke.
“Fine. No wondering off. If we’re under pressure no looking for information about Jaron and Tatiana. If we take someone for information, we’ll ask. Do you know how to use that thing?” He nodded at the rifle.
“I visited a shooting range several times back home.”
Even though he looked like he’d swallowed a lime, he went back to his desk. I joined the circle of vorpyr as they finalized details.
“Zyroth and I each have a craft that can handle interplanetary travel. We will split the warriors between them.” Arrazyl tapped something on the desk and the plans vanished. “Unless you have anything else, it’s time to go.”
We loaded up into the two ships. Luuciyn, Arrazyl’s brother, I learned, took his job seriously and stuck to me like a burr.
It didn’t take long to realize that he was a sarcastic rake.
He must be highly intelligent and strong to be a Vorazyr, but he also definitely had the libido and attitude of a rich teen on summer vacation.
The trip took us several hours. Very different than the trip from Earth.
Why was the Consortium out here? I took the time to go over the plans with Luuciyn, who seemed intent on making pointed comments and getting an invasive question in every other sentence.
I didn’t begrudge him. I was involved with his brother and was from a species they weren’t on friendly terms with.
Arrazyl stayed away from me the entire flight. I missed the comfort of his presence, but it was good he kept his distance. Distractions could cost someone their life, and I would never forgive myself if that happened because of me.
Some of us slept and eventually we arrived at the planet. The descent through the atmosphere was bumpy and my nails bit into the armrests. Space travel was not for me.
The nerves that had abated during the long flight came rushing back as we landed in the middle of a desert. High dunes I could barely see thanks to the quickly dwindling light concealed the craft on both sides. The other craft landed not far away.
“Having second thoughts?” Luuciyn arched an eyebrow at me as though it were a challenge.
“I’m worried about everyone’s safety.” I met his gaze with a cool look of my own. “It’s perfectly natural. I’m not used to fighting.”
He flashed a shit-eating grin at my comeback. What a terror he must have been as a child. His poor mother.
The warriors that would wait with the craft took up a protective stance around them and pairs went out to clear the area.
Others got into their positions and finally it was time to go.
Luuciyn wrapped an arm around me and took off.
It was so dark I couldn’t see any of the others flying with us, but occasionally I could hear the soft swish of their wingbeats.
Low lights came into view. A lot of them. The compound was much larger than I’d expected.
We landed on one of the flat rooftops silently and without detection.
“You will stay behind me and in front of Bry, who will bring up the rear.” Luuciyn reminded me so softly I had to strain to hear him. I squeezed his arm to let him know I heard.
There was some noise as Arrazyl and Zyroth tore off the square metal trapdoor in the roof and my pulse roared in my ears.
Was my breathing too loud? Holding my breath didn’t help long term and only made me need more oxygen.
Calm down. You’re doing this to help right a wrong and hopefully find information about Jaron and Tatiana.
Even as I hoped they’d been able to get home safely, I ached to think that they weren’t with me anymore.
Another thing I would have to adjust to.
Arrazyl took the lead with Zyroth close behind and then someone I didn’t know went down before Luuciyn and I followed. A warrior of Zyroth’s brought up the rear. As we descended, I kept a death grip on the rifle I had. The stairs were steep but lights along them made it easy to move quickly.
The stairs ended at a small room that opened to a wide concrete hallway. I held my breath as we funneled out into the hallway, but no one was around.
We traversed through the oppressive labyrinth.
Occasionally, the males would lift their heads and I didn’t know if they were listening or smelling or both.
The hallway turned into a high black catwalk.
In the middle of the circular platform was some sort of reactor.
We avoided it and quickly passed to the other side of the room.
The next hallway was better lit, and I worried we were getting into more traversed areas. A door opened and a man in uniform stepped out. Arrazyl leapt forward and grabbed him. His eyes bulged, and he fought, trying to scream around the hand Arrazyl had clamped over his mouth.
“Where is the vorpyr you are holding?” Arrazyl hissed.
When the man didn’t respond, Zyroth lengthened his claws and gripped his face, sinking the claws of his other hand into the man’s stomach. “Speak or I will tear your innards out.”
I looked away when he started dragging his claws. The man said something. Only it was in English, not the intergalactic tongue. “What do you fucking animals want from me?”
“Arrazyl,” I stepped forward and let them know he didn’t understand them. The man’s eyes got impossibly wide.
“What are you doing with them? Did they kidnap you?” The outrage on his face was comical, considering what his group had done.
I ignored his question and asked where the vorpyr was.
“No fucking way am I telling these animals where their little broodmare is. How can you associate with them? Help me and I’ll help you escape them.”
If I could growl, I would have. I didn’t translate, but told them he was being belligerent. Zyroth went back to work until the man was bloody.
“She’s on the lower level, damn it,” he panted, face creased in pain.
“And where is that?”
He described how to get there. I translated but got the feeling he’d given us some bullshit mixed with truth and told them so.
“We’ll stay on alert—” Arrazyl started to say, then all their heads jerked up.
“Incoming.” Luuciyn pushed me behind him.
Zyroth and another male rushed to the turn in the hallway and leapt on the two men coming around the corner. They had finished them before they could react. The man Arrazyl held gaped.
“You will take us to the vorpyr.” I translated Arrazyl’s words.
The man nodded, clearly incentivized by the death of his comrades.
We turned left at the end of the hall and came to a sealed door with a small scanner mounted next to it.
“Open it.” Arrazyl shook him and I didn’t need to translate for him to slap his palm on the scanner.
I wiped my palms on my pants and regripped my rifle. Every nerve was alight with tension as I followed them through the door.
A man in the cavernous warehouse type room looked up from a crate he was moving. The crate crash to the floor.
“Intruders!” the man screeched. Zyroth slashed his neck, sending him crashing to the floor.
“Forward.” Arrazyl barked. He dragged the man across the expansive space.
Movement behind one of the stacks of crates had Zyroth and another male zipping over there, but it was too late. A piercing siren sounded.
Luuciyn pushed me behind a stack of crates as the sound of multiple doors being slammed open and heavy boots filled the space.
Chaos broke out. The massive ceiling allowed the vorpyr the advantage of maneuvering over and around the crates and towering shelving systems easily, but the booming sound of gunfire and the zings of laser rifles ricocheted through the room.
“Stay here. Do not move.” Luuciyn, who was crouched next to me, vanished around the crates.
I forced my breathing to remain even as I peeked out around the crates.
It was utter pandemonium. Vorpyr zipped around while bullets flew everywhere.
I didn’t know how to help. Should I continue through and try to find the vorpyr captive?
No, Luuciyn told me to stay put. He’d have a heart attack if he came back to find me gone.
As I was gazing at the door in contemplation, it burst open.
I gaped at the sight and ran forward, staying low and being careful to move quickly between stacks of crates until I was close to the door.