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11 Mine

Ashtoret de Origa

Ashtoret ran, fueled by his fury.

They took my bonded! he silently roared.

Fear for her had him in an unrelenting grip. Providence talked about the horrific experiments her own people would do to her if she ever returned. Now these vile people had Abby.

I shouldn’t have put her in this position.

“The cruisers are landing this way.” Aculus tugged his arm, bringing him to a halt.

“My bonded is going that way,” he roared.

“We can’t catch the vehicles on foot and we’re not equipped to evade the warriors pursuing us,” Aculus rumbled, his red eyes flashing.

Every instinct in him rebelled, telling him they needed to follow the black vehicles. It was hard fighting the driving need as Abby’s scream replayed in his mind. He was so close to her when the humans opened fire, forcing them to retreat. But Aculus was right.

Ashtoret ran faster toward the flickering streaks of the landing cloaked cruisers, ignoring the pain in his muscles. It was nothing compared to the pain of loss gripping his chest. They swiftly boarded and were off the ground again, not bothering to strap in.

“Bring up the location of the trackers,” Aculus barked to the cruiser as they stormed into the control room. “There. That’s where they were taken.”

“I know the Daimio ordered us to avoid conflict, but I’m getting my mate back. Kagan will just have to understand. You can drop me off if you disagree,” he snarled to Aculus and Payim.

“My ass you’re going in alone,” Aculus countered, menace filling his voice. He marched over to a panel on the wall and punched it. The wall slid open to reveal an array of weapons and armor. “Shell up.”

He cast the male a wicked grin. Aculus was full of surprises. The bony warrior stripped then clapped a spiky vambrace on each arm, and similarly rugged greaves on his legs. It seemed a bit like overkill for the naturally armored male, but the Osivoire wasn’t invincible. There were two cracks in the bony plate on Aculus’ chest where the humans shot him with their projectile weapons.

“Thank you for being my shield.” He clapped a hand on Aculus’ shoulder.

“Don’t mention it.” Aculus nodded and passed him pieces of armor.

He stripped off his vestments and slapped the armor in place just as Aculus did. Ashtoret’s eyes widened at the strange tingling in his skin when the armor adhered to his body. Aculus touched a spot on his wrist and things got weirder. The armor expanded, forming an exoskeleton. It was hard holding his composure as it slid over his skin like a living thing. He looked in awe at his arms and legs. The spiky armor concealed him from head to toe. The creepiest part was the shield over his eyes which tinted his vision red.

“You look like an Osivoire merc. All except that tail,” Aculus chuckled as he engaged his own armor.

The male was right. His tail was the only thing that gave him away, but even that was covered in a spiked bony sheath. Ashtoret flexed his fist, then bent his knees. He flicked his tail and it smashed against the hull with an impressive thud. He had full range of motion, no restrictions. The Osivoire shell was amazing.

“Here.” Aculus passed him a weapon much like a disrupter. “It’s set to stun, but this sensor will adjust the strength to a fatal level.”

“They never should’ve threatened my female,” Ashtoret snarled. He would use deadly force without regret.

“Agreed,” Aculus growled.

He tilted his head toward Payim.

“We might as well go in with everything we’ve got.” Aculus nodded.

“You heard our friend, Payim, shell up.”

Payim growled in agreement and grabbed some gear.

Aculus set the autopilot then they headed to the belly of the cruiser, where the bony warrior flung open the hatch. The pull of the whipping wind was intense as he stared down at the earth far below. Ashtoret tilted his head in question.

“We jump,” Aculus replied to his incredulous expression.

This is the craziest thing I’ve ever done. But he would do anything to get Abby.