Protected by the Alien Warrior

  Protected By The Alien Warrior

  Hope Hart

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  Ivy

  The Voildi dumps me on the ground, and I glower up at him.

  This planet is kicking my ass.

  “Get up,” he says as he steps forward. He raises his hand while Zoey slowly gets to her knees, her face so pale she looks half dead.

  The asshole is going to hit her.

  I jump in front of Zoey, and Beth helps her to her feet.

  The Voildi are a sickly yellow color, with sharp, pointed teeth. They’re about our height, but they’re stronger than most of the firefighters I work with, and they’re some of the strongest people around.

  After the way the Voildi kicked my ass when we were taken, I’m prepared for his speed. He swings, and I automatically duck, punching him in the face. The thud of my fist is satisfying as he cups his hands to his nose, and his friends roar with laughter as blood drips between his fingers.

  The gag in my mouth makes it difficult to breathe. Thanks to the time I broke my nose when I was ten, I’m limited by the amount of oxygen I can get through it. I raise my fists as he steps forward anyway, more than ready for a fight.

  “Jasit,” a voice says, and we all turn. I’ve seen a few sociopaths in my time, but one glance at this guy has all the tiny hairs on the back of my neck standing up. He glances at me, and I shiver as I raise my chin.

  His gaze shifts, lingering on Zoey and Beth, and he frowns. “Where are the rest?”

  “The Braxians showed up,” Jasit grinds out. “They killed the hunters from Atar’s pack.”

  The other Voildi nods, and from the tension in the Voildi surrounding us, I’m guessing he’s the ringmaster of this circus.

  “Are you sure we can’t eat them?” Jasit asks, and his leader smiles.

  “I have plans for them,” he says. “Meat can be found anywhere on this planet. But females are a precious commodity.”

  Oh, great.

  The leader raises his eyebrow, gesturing to the right, and I tense at the sight of the cave entrance.

  “Walk,” he says.

  We walk. I glance at Beth, and she nods, making sure Zoey is between us. The cave is larger than it first appeared, lit with torches that have been attached to the walls. Someone is cooking meat, and my stomach growls.

  Cannibals, Ivy. You probably don’t want what they’re cooking.

  There’s a fire burning, and a group of Voildi are gathered around it—women and children included.

  One of the Voildi unties my gag, and I run my dry tongue against the corners of my mouth. The leader offers Beth a waterskin, and she hesitates, stepping back as he smiles at her.

  “We want you alive,” he says through that creepy-ass smile. “So drink, or we will pour it down your throat.”

  She takes a sip, and I gratefully do the same when I’m handed a skin of my own.

  We’re pointed toward a corner on the opposite side of the fire, and I snort at the thin furs as I glance around. Beth’s eyes meet mine, and I nod. Yeah, we’re unlikely to be able to sneak out of here anytime soon.

  One of the Voildi women steps forward, avoiding my gaze. She hands us each a plate of food, and we sit down. But we’re not in a hurry to sample whatever these guys are serving us.

  I inspect it and finally shrug as Zoey and Beth watch me. Looks like I’m taking one for the team.

  I take a bite and swallow with a relieved sigh. “It’s fish,” I tell them, and we inhale our food as the Voildi finish their own meals, breaking into groups as they pass around thick furs.

  Zoey hands me her plate, and I run my eyes over her. She looks bad, her skin so pale that her blue eyes provide the only color on her face. I lock eyes with Beth and nod. We need to find someone who can help her.

  When we were stolen from Earth and sold to the aliens who loaded us onto their ship, one of those motherfuckers kicked Zoey in the ribs. Before we were taken by the Voildi, I’d had a quick look at the damage. If I’d come across her while in the field, I’d have taken her straight to the hospital.

  I’m not a doctor, but after six years as a firefighter, I’ve seen it all. And I’d bet money that she has at least one fractured rib.

  The urge for vengeance hits me, soothed only by the fact that those purple assholes died when we crash-landed on this planet.

  Just when we thought we’d been rescued, the three of us were separated from the other human women.

  I finger what’s left of my Minnie Mouse pajamas. The pajamas were a gag gift from Bruce, my closest friend and fellow firefighter. The huge black man roared with laughter when I waltzed into the communal kitchen at our firehouse wearing the bright-pink pajamas.

  I spent our entire journey to this cave ripping scraps of material from my pajamas and hiding them along the way. I’m pinning all my hopes on the other women coming after us—ideally with the huge warriors who stepped in to fight off the first group of Voildi who tricked us into following them.

  I scan our surroundings, but nothing has changed since I did the same thing a few minutes ago. The floor is bumpy with tree roots, and there’s a small puddle of water not far from where I’m sitting, growing larger with the occasional drop of water from somewhere above us.

  Time to figure out a plan.

  “We’re not getting out of here tonight,” I murmur to the other women. “But that’s okay. We’re not in good condition, and we need to sleep anyway.”

  Beth nods. “If they’ve got plans, they might move us.”

  “Or they could bring those plans to us,” Zoey murmurs.

  I shake my head. “This looks temporary. Look—those guys are arguing over blankets, and it’s clear that this camp has been set up in a hurry.”

  Beth shifts next to me. “So what do we do?”

  I sigh, annoyed at myself. I’ve had to wrestle with my temper my whole life, and I mentally curse my poor impulse control.

  “I was a dumbass and showed them I could fight. Now they’re going to watch me closely. They know Zoey’s injured, and they’ve already discounted you as a thin weakling,” I say to Beth, rolling my eyes.

  I went to high school with a ballet dancer, and she could give any firefighter a run for their money when it came to mental and physical toughness.

  I wait as one of the Voildi comes close to our corner of the cave and then lower my voice to a whisper.

  “We need to be realistic,” I say. “We’re outnumbered. By a lot. Chances are, we’re not all making it out of here together.”

  A sob escapes Zoey’s throat, and for a moment I feel bad for my bluntness. But if we’re going to come up with a plan, we all need to get on the same page, and fast.

  Beth grabs Zoey’s hand and stares at me. “We can’t split up,” she says.

  I narrow my eyes at her. “We do whatever is best for all of us. If even one of us can get away, we can get help for the others.”

  Beth glances away, and I drop it. For now. We huddle together as the temperature falls, not bothering to talk as the Voildi all go to sleep.

  I watch for any opportunity to escape, but there must be twenty Voildi between us and the cave entrance, not to mention the sentries outside. I get a few hours of sleep as B
eth takes over the watch, but by the time the Voildi start putting out their fire, I’m so tired I feel nauseous.

  One of the Voildi steps forward, handing me a waterskin. I pass it to Zoey, and Beth gently encourages her to take a few sips before Zoey pushes it away and we share the rest amongst us.

  A few moments later, a Voildi makes the mistake of coming too close, and Beth thrusts out one of her long, toned legs. The Voildi trips, and we all chortle as he face-plants.

  “Whoops.” Beth grins as he bares his teeth at us. “My bad.”

  The leader approaches, and I stare at him as he narrows his eyes at Beth.

  “We may want you alive, but that doesn’t mean you need to be healthy,” he murmurs, and the threat is scarier for the controlled rage in his voice.

  “It was an accident,” Beth says sweetly, and I hold back a grin. “I needed to stretch.”

  He turns away and gestures to one of the other Voildi.

  “Get up,” that Voildi says.

  We help Zoey to her feet and follow him out of the cave. I inhale the fresh air, grateful that we managed to make it through another night on this terrifying planet. What I’d give to wake up in the firehouse right now. I’d love to discover that this was all just a bad dream.

  Suck it up, Ivy. Get moving.

  “I need the bathroom,” I announce, and the Voildi next to us obviously have no idea what I’m talking about. I sigh. “I need to piss.” I cross my legs and do the universal pee bounce until one of them snorts.

  “Killis?” the Voildi calls, and the leader moves toward us. How nice to put a name to his face. They have a short discussion, and Killis finally shoots me a warning look, pointing to three Voildi, who lead me into the forest.

  This is not good.

  “I can’t go with you looking at me.” I scowl at them. Two of them turn away, but one shrugs, his eyes cold as he gestures for me to do my business. Once again, I curse my impulsiveness. I shrug and drop my pajamas, getting on with it under his watchful eye.

  No opportunities to escape for me.

  We head back to the group, and I shake my head at Beth. Her face falls, and I can practically read her mind. She’s realizing that since I’m too closely watched, she’s going to have to be the one to escape.

  We walk for hours, surrounded by Voildi. Eventually, I shoot Beth a look.

  “I can’t,” she mutters.

  “You have to. You’re our only hope.”

  I don’t want to be a bully, but I will if I need to. Zoey collapsed a few minutes ago, and she’s currently being carried by one of the Voildi, who doesn’t look pleased.

  Beth frowns, her expression dejected. “I’m not really the hero type,” she mutters. “I’m more decorative.”

  I grin at that. “Buck up, champ. You’re on.”

  Beth sighs, sways, and drops down to her knees. One of the Voildi orders her to get up, his leg cocked threateningly. She gets back up to her feet, and I glower at the Voildi.

  “Takes a big man to kick someone while they’re down,” I mutter.

  Then Beth trips, hitting the ground, and one of the Voildi picks her up, throwing her over his shoulder. She glances at me, not pleased, but I can see the acceptance on her face. She needs to look weak if this is going to work. The Voildi are likely to see her thin body and assume she’s no threat at all, completely ignoring the toned muscles that speak of hours of training every day.

  Idiots.

  “I need to pee,” she says finally, and her face is white with fear as she meets my gaze one more time while the Voildi carrying her mutters something to his friends.

  I nod at her. Right now, she’s our only hope.

  Ivy

  Killis is incoherent with rage when Beth doesn’t come back. It took a while for everyone to notice that the Voildi sent to guard Beth hadn’t returned with her, and a group of Voildi were dispatched to go back for them.

  They’ve now returned with their friend slumped over one of the Voildi’s shoulders, the vicious wound on his head dripping blood onto the forest floor. It’s taking every ounce of my willpower to not do a victory dance.

  Nice work, Beth.

  After a few moments of watching Killis scream at his men, spittle flying from his mouth, I tune him out. The translation device in my ear is the only thing that allows me to understand him anyway. Instead, I watch his men as he chews them out, calling them various names as his yellow face darkens until it’s the color of Dijon mustard.

  A few of his men look suitably contrite. But the Voildi closest to me protests as Killis orders them to leave their injured friend in the forest.

  Killis doesn’t give a shit.

  “Let this be a lesson to all of you,” he hisses. His men comply, placing the injured Voildi on the ground, but a few of them hesitate.

  Dissension in the ranks. Awesome.

  My dad was a firefighter—a lieutenant in the FDNY. He was loved by the firefighters in his company, and I wanted to be just like him when I grew up.

  When he was home, Dad often talked about his favorite book—The Art of War.

  Sometimes, he’d read me parts before I went to bed. Most of it I didn’t understand until I read it again when I was an adult. One of the quotes he loved the most: “Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.”

  My dad was known for this. He’d never ask anyone in his company to do something he wasn’t willing to do himself.

  From the look on the Voildi’s faces, they’re not feeling like Killis’s beloved sons.

  But they still leave their friend behind.

  Zoey is either unconscious or smart enough to pretend that she’s unconscious, which leaves me as the target of Killis’s fury.

  I expect things to get worse for me, and they do. Killis has my hands tied again and then slaps me across the face, screaming at me in front of his men. I stare back at him silently, keeping my face blank.

  Eventually, I realize he sees my gaze as a challenge, and I drop my eyes to the ground, hunching my shoulders.

  “If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.”

  I’ll make him pay for everything he’s done to us.

  We walk all day and only stop to make camp in the forest when it’s too dark to continue. The Voildi are on edge out here, with most of them talking in low voices. Zoey is dumped next to me, and I make her drink some water, then attempt to get her to eat some of the meat the Voildi hand us.

  Thankfully, I saw five or six Voildi leave the camp before returning with a huge animal that they slaughtered and cooked.

  Best to know where your food is coming from when you’re eating with cannibals.

  I snort. Maybe when I’m back on Earth, I can put that on a T-shirt.

  Zoey falls asleep almost instantly, curled up next to me. We’re lying slightly closer to the fire tonight, and I listen to the Voildi talking amongst themselves as my eyes grow heavy. The word Braxians is mentioned multiple times, and from what I’ve gathered, they’re the warriors who attacked the Voildi when we were first taken and before these guys kidnapped us.

  The Braxians were huge, muscled, and lethal. I saw them fight briefly before we were taken, and there’s nothing I’d like more than for a few of them to stumble across us and take the Voildi down.

  Although, let’s face it—the last time we were “rescued” on this planet, it didn’t really go all that well for us. It’s likely that we’re better off staying away from any and all aliens on Agron.

  Killis seems to have chosen his spot well, and there are no Braxians finding us anytime soon. He seems pleased the next morning, and I’m kicked awake as soon as there’s enough light to keep moving.

  “Should we leave this one?” A Voildi gestures to Zoey, who just stares at him, her eyes clouded with pain.

  “No,” Killis snaps.

  “She’s weak and will slow us down.”

  “Someone will b
uy her.” Killis turns his back dismissively, and the Voildi growls, gesturing for Zoey to get to her feet.

  “Ouch,” I murmur. “Your friend gets left behind to die, but you have to take a stranger with you? That’s gotta sting.”

  He narrows his eyes, reaching out to hit me, and I raise my hands, which are thankfully no longer tied. Another Voildi moves closer, muttering something to him, and his face goes blank as he lifts Zoey, once again throwing her over his shoulder.

  We reach some kind of village at dusk. Most of the houses have been constructed with whatever material the owners can find, and they look like they’d fall over at the first storm. A few of them appear to have been painstakingly built out of wood, with a window in each wall, and they’re obviously the homes of the wealthier residents around here.

  People come to their doors as we walk past. Most of them stare at Zoey and me curiously, but none dare to approach the Voildi, many of them dropping their eyes or returning inside. I can see why. These people have nothing, and while Killis left the Voildi women and children with some guards back at the cave, this is still a massive group. Something tells me that the Voildi have a reputation for being assholes on this planet.

  From what I can gather, Killis was hoping to sell us at a slave market around here, but the Braxians shut it down. This news led to a lot of pacing and screaming from Killis, which provided plenty of entertainment. These Braxians are quickly becoming some of my favorite people.

  Killis turns to one of the Voildi close to me. “Has it been done?”

  “Yes, milord. Havish sent word that they have taken over the houses you specified.”

  “Good.”

  Chapter Two

  Vrex

  I scowl into the forest. It’s getting dark, and the sooner I can finish this task, the sooner I can return to my tashiv.