Page 33

33

Breaking Her In

*Ren*

I sprawled there, boneless, with a smile that refused to wipe away.

Wow… That was a hell of a test drive.

But it wasn’t long before the doubts Jalen had so easily demolished creeped back in his absence.

Was it good for him, too? Sure, he’d been all smiles when he’d left, but that didn’t change the fact that he had left. Blew right out of the cave as soon as he could find an excuse.

Fuck. Arda was right. We needed to talk. I wouldn’t feel comfortable until we hashed it out. With that thought in mind, I forced my sated limbs to move. Shoving my discarded skirt and top back on, I shuffled to the entrance. He said he wouldn’t be long. Maybe I could catch him walking in and we could clear everything up before I lost my nerve.

I flung open the door and grinned when I spotted a figure hunched over just ahead of me. “Jalen, we need to—” I gasped, eyes widening as the man stood. “Who the fuck are you?”

It sure as shit wasn’t Jalen. As soon as he straightened, that was blatantly clear. Before he turned, I realized he wasn’t even Dionion. The hair was all wrong, short and dirty blonde, and though he was stacked with muscle, he was shorter than the average Dionion. The clothes were a dead giveaway, too. Mystery guy wore a skinsuit, much like the one I was currently cursing myself for not slipping back on.

Then he turned, and I took a step back. Human. Why was another Terran here, alone in the jungle?

“Yuri, you about ready to head back?” a man called from somewhere in the trees.

My skin prickled. Not alone, then.

I forgot about waiting for an answer and bolted for the cave. My heart pounded wildly as I grabbed the door and pulled, only to have it wrenched out of my fingers. Then I went airborne, shoved into the cave so violently I smashed into the stone floor. My chin slammed into the rock, rattling my skull.

Thankfully, my arms absorbed the brunt of the hit, but the attack was so unexpected I couldn’t protect my face completely. A trickle of warm liquid gushed down my neck, and when I lifted my hand to my aching jaw, red painted my fingers. My stomach revolted, forcing me to close my eyes to avoid retching.

“What do we have here?” Yuri called over his shoulder, “Roland, get in here. I found something you’re gonna want to see.”

As I flipped over, my rattled brain picked up on a clue that I hadn’t noticed when the last guy—Roland, maybe—spoke from the woods. These guys weren’t Terrans. Anyone else might have missed the slight difference in their accent, but I had an advantage. Namely, my linguist brother who had spent the better part of his college career studying the mysterious colony that had broken contact with the Terran system nearly a century ago.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave me alone, Thrin scum.” A sneer curled my lips, and I forced as much venom into my tone as I could muster. I had to do something. Maybe if I kept him talking, it would give Jalen time to return and find me. “My mate is out foraging. When he sees what you did—”

“Shut up, Terran.” Yuri pulled back his booted foot, aiming it at my stomach.

“Stop!” The voice I recognized from earlier stopped Yuri’s boot in its tracks.

It belonged to a man who stood in the doorway, scowling. He wore an identical black skinsuit and boots, but that was where the similarities ended. This guy was far darker, with black hair that fell over his forehead and partially hid his piercing brown eyes. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he barked, crossing his beefy arms across his barrel chest. “You know what our orders were.”

“But look at her.” Yuri’s lecherous gaze raked over me, making my skin crawl. “We can have a lot of fun with this one on the way back to—” A hard crack rang out, Roland’s hand moving lightning fast to slap Yuri. I winced but couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for the prick.

“Idiot. Don’t tell her where we’re from!”

“She already knows.” Yuri rubbed his reddening jaw. “The bitch called me Thrin scum.”

Oh no. My stomach sank.

“Fucking hell.” Roland paced back and forth twice, his long stride eating up the cave floor. Then he halted and waved a hand. “Bring her.”

“What? No!” I scrambled back, desperate. There had to be a way out of this. If not Jalen, then Arda. I slapped my neck. “Verne, come in!” I shouted. “Help! I need your help!”

“You’re wasting your breath.” Roland lifted his sleeve, flashing a watch I vaguely recognized from the pages of Visionary Tech Magazine . “This is the best comm-blocker on the market. No one is coming to save you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” I yelped as Yuri grabbed my arm and yanked me to my feet. “My mate is out foraging. He’ll come for me! He’ll kill you on the spot.”

Roland’s shoulders stiffened. “Guess we better move fast, then.” He turned to Yuri. “Gag her and bind her wrists.” Roland snatched my pack and riffled through it as Yuri released me, a violent gleam in his eyes.

No. This isn’t happening.

I froze as the brute grabbed a sheet off the nearest pallet and shredded it. But no matter how many times I blinked, I couldn’t make the nightmare disappear.

I had two choices. I could stand there and accept my fate, or I could fight back.

Not much of a choice, is it?

Still, I had to be smart. There was no way I could overpower them. They were both far too big. But maybe I could outsmart them.

I cast my gaze around, looking for anything that I could use. If I was about to be bound and gagged, I wouldn’t be able to scream for Jalen. I needed some other way to show him where they were taking me. My lips twitched as I spotted something that might work.

First things first. I couldn’t leave the cave like this. With how unpredictable I’d been, Jalen might think I’d run away. The small patch of blood on the cave floor would help, but that was easy to overlook. I had to make it clear I’d been taken.

So as Yuri lifted the first strip of cloth to my mouth and demanded, “Open,” I lurched for the table.

With a wild sweep of my arms, I scattered the plants Jalen had foraged and stacked so neatly for our meal. “No! You won’t take me! Leave me a—” My rant cut off as pain blasted through my stomach.

Yuri hauled me against his chest, clenching my belly so tightly I wanted to weep. “Feisty, are you? Good. I can’t stand a dead fish in my bed.”

Nausea bit the back of my throat, but I was careful to hide the small treasure I’d scooped up into my fist.

“Hold her still,” Roland ordered. “I’ll clean up your mess—again. You owe me, Yuri.”

Yuri’s arms banded even tighter around me, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “Don’t worry. I’ll let you have the first go breaking her in. How’s that for payback?”

We’ll see about that, Thrin asshole.