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“If you eventhinkabout escaping again, I’ll punish you even more than I plan to already – understood?”

“…than I plan to already.” Fuck! It looks like I’m going to get punished for that first escape attempt, aren’t I?

Kitos, the third Aurelian, draws his Orb-Weapon. He stands guard at the entrance to the alleyway, while the leader of the triad reaches into the pockets of his suit and pulls out a small, slimline spray.

I recognize it as medi-seal – a military-grade medical gel. Daccia uses it to quickly seal Hadrian’s bloody injuries; filling and sealing the bullet wounds with the expanding spray foam.

“It’s… It’s through my fucking lungs,” Hadrian gasps, blood frothing on his lips. There’s no fear in his voice – merely agony as the huge warrior coughs up blood. The red contrasts almost beautifully against his stark, marble-white skin. Even his lips look like they’re carved from marble, now flecked with blood.

The leader of the Aurelians lifts his arm, the gesture pulling back the cuff of his sleeve. He presses a button on his smart-watch…

…just as a voice rings out from behind us: “Don’t fucking move!”

I snap my head around. At the opposite end of the alleyway are four men, pointing rifles at us. I suddenly hear noises from the way we came, and the three men who’d been shooting at us appear, their pistols pointed right at us.

The three Aurelians look up and down the alleyway – the way we came, and the way we’d clearly hoped to escape. Now, armed men block both paths.

We’re trapped.

For a moment back there, I’d hoped Spur would save me from these Aurelians – but now that thought fills me with dread. I can’t stomach the idea of going back to my miserable existence, stripping for money. I’d almost been relived when I’d finally realized these Aurelians were from Law Enforcement. I’d been dreading their arrival for so long, it was finally a relief to finally be caught, cornered and captured…

But now these three Aurelian Law Enforcement agents are going to either be forced off this planet…

…or just gunned down, right in front of me.

And, if they are – that’s the end of my time here.

I won’t be able to stay any longer on this planet – not now that Law Enforcement know where I am, or after the agents they’d dispatched to capture me have been killed or exiled.

Fuck! I need to get out of here! I need to get out of this alleyway, grab my go-bag, and justjet. My entire life has been spent in fear of the day Law Enforcement tracked me down – and now they’ve got my scent, I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to evade capture.

I’m exhausted just at the thought of it.

I can’t go back to Spur’s, either – even if I’d wanted to. It’s clear that Spur was trying tosellme to these Aurelians – assuming they wanted another woman for their harem, not knowing they were really Law Enforcement officers.

But now he does know – or, more specifically, now that he knowsIknow – he’s not going to welcome me back to dance for him. Plus, he knows now that Aurelian Law Enforcement is after me, and he’ll make sure I’m sold to another buyer before they track me down again – or I can escape.

My mind races. Meanwhile, the two groups of gunmen march forward – closing in on us from both sides. Their steps are unsteady with fear, but they have both the advantage of numbersandguns.

“Drop your fucking swords!” The biggest guard, with the biggest rifle, screams out the warning.

The clattering sound of three Orb-Weapon hilts hitting the ground stuns me. I’d never have imagined the Aurelians giving in so easily.

Then again, this alleyway would be a terrible place to die. The puddles under my feet are small and shallow, and yet they look hungry for me to fall into them. I imagine the Aurelians are no more enthusiastic about meeting their end on these dirty, dingy cobblestones than I am.

Spur's men advance. Now the Aurelians have dropped their weapons, the human guards are in full control of the situation. As they approach, they look at me like a piece of meat.

Shit. Now IknowI'm not going to go back to dancing. Now that I know Spur wanted to sell me, the stakes are higher than ever. He’ll be furious that the Aurelians betrayed him, and wise to the fact that I’ll try to escape given the first opportunity.

He'll have me carted off to the next slave auction – end of story.

That thought disgusts me to the core. Dancing for dirty, disgusting men was bad enough – but the thought of being forced onto a slave auction stage, wearing nothing more than a skimpy dress that hides nothing, fills me with dread.

Imagine the vilest of human men, Rogue Aurelians, and – oh, Gods – evenToadsbidding on me! The thought is horrifying. I’ve already spent weeks in an Aurelian Harem – experiencing the powerful dominance of those towering aliens…

…that would be heaven compared to being stuck in a Toad harem.

"Calm."