Page 25 of Chased by the Alien Mercenary (Monster Mercenary Mates #6)

Lyra

I should have known that he would be gone when I opened my eyes.

The cynical part of me—the one that was always alone and unattached—wanted to point out that this was normal.

All guys had a foot out the door, and that was fine because I was exactly the same: planning my next trip before I’d even returned from the first. But this was Solear, my quiet, untamed guy with a fear of being alone.

A fear that had been baked into his bones after he’d spent hours, days, perhaps even a week under rubble and fire as a young boy.

There was only a little food left after we’d eaten in between the several rounds of utterly mind-blowing sex.

The nightie was torn to shreds, my thighs were still a sticky mess, and I was deliciously sore.

But he was gone. If I could reach out to his twin right now and find out what the hell was going on, I would, but I wasn’t quite sure which contact to call on the comm.

Considering it was a stolen device, I did not want to accidentally pick the wrong one and call one of the bad guys.

Waiting again was out of the question though, I was very done with that.

So I discarded the torn clothes, forewent panties altogether, and got dressed in the clothes Solear had stolen for me.

The wrinkled shirt was dry and at least soft against my bra-less boobs, and I counted my lucky stars that I was small-chested and didn’t need one for support.

Stomping into the boots was slightly uncomfortable; they were still not quite dry.

Then I was as ready as I could be and sat down to scarf up what remained of the fruit and bread.

Solear had made sure there was always food, even when he’d stalked off in a huff.

Like he couldn’t help but provide for me, I couldn’t complain about that.

I just wished he hadn’t gone out and done the asinine thing everyone he knew had tried to talk him out of doing.

Why was getting this info on that bad guy so important?

I was resolved to have answers, and I’d make him write it down or something if all else failed.

It wasn’t a very tempting thought to crawl through that narrow, still-wet passage to the surface, but if I wanted to have any idea of how he was doing, I had no choice.

I tucked the comm device into the pocket of the too-large coat, wrapped one of our blankets around my shoulders and the others around my legs—hopefully to help me stay dry—and then I set out.

It felt silly, like I was a caterpillar in a cocoon, struggling to crawl out and become a butterfly.

If only I could fly away when I reached the surface.

That’s what we needed to do, and I vaguely recalled that there was some kind of urgency about that.

What had the captain said again? Damn it!

I couldn’t remember. Just that we needed to hurry.

But I’d been so derailed by the whole “mate” thing that I must not have stored that rather pertinent bit of info. I hoped Solear had a better idea.

The rains had, thankfully, stopped when I carefully stuck my head out of the dark hole in the ground.

The grassy slope was soggy and squelched as I hauled myself to my feet.

The hole was practically obscured behind taller grass and dark rock.

The night gave it further cover, and now I wondered how Solear had even known this cave was there.

I was starting to dislike this planet even more when, on my first step downhill, my boot sank deeply, and a glowing flower suddenly unfurled and snapped forward, sharply stinging my thigh.

Ouch, that hurt. Where had it come from?

Until it began glowing, it had been completely camouflaged in the grass.

I should have remembered that the mountain was covered with carnivorous plants, now one had made a meal out of me.

It took a moment to dig out the sharp, fang-like protrusions stuck in my skin.

My eyes frantically tracked the glow of more and more flowers popping up all around me.

They were going to make minced meat out of me if I had to walk through those.

Solear’s thick armor must have repelled them before, and so far, he’d always carried me, especially at night.

Now I wondered if he knew that would keep me out of harm’s way.

Probably not, or even if he knew, he would have done it regardless.

He seemed to like hauling me around like the caveman he was.

And I liked it too, especially if it kept me from being eaten by the glowy flowers.

Now what? I dared not move from my spot, so I needed to reevaluate what to do next.

The mansion still glowed down below, but it was darker than before, as night had progressed quite far.

I wasn’t quite sure how much longer until dawn, but at the very least, it was well past midnight by now.

Solear had to be down there, but it seemed calm—no commotion—so they had not discovered him.

If he came back and discovered me missing from the cave, would he be able to find me?

Yeah, probably. He’d see the messy tracks I’d made and follow them easily.

So, did I go to the landingstrip behind the mansion and try to get us a ride?

That would be helpful, wouldn’t it? I wasn’t exactly qualified to fly anything, but that had never stopped me, anyway.

I’d done plenty of aerial surveys with my camera.

I’d flown in all kinds of circumstances, maybe some of that had rubbed off on me? A girl could hope.

Finding a flat rock nearby seemed to be the answer to my biggest issue: the flowers.

I could toss it onto a patch of flowers, crush them, and take a step, carefully repeating the process downhill.

Not ideal, certainly not fast, but better than sitting on my ass.

Of course, I found myself pausing twice to take pictures of the strange nightflowers.

They were just so ethereal and pretty—until they sank their sharp teeth into your flesh.

I might have gotten a little too distracted by a particularly dense patch of the flesh-eating plants.

Ducking behind my rock, I was snapping pictures as I contemplated how to toss it for maximum effect.

When I heard the voices coming toward me, I was too slow to react.

Duck, hide, run? I wasn’t sure what was best, and then they saw me.

Another person might have tried to fight, but at the sight of a dozen Krektar led by that red guy with the golden marks on his arms, I knew it was futile.

Running would only get me bitten by a dozen flowers before they caught up to me and hauled me back by force.

So I waited, tucking the comm into the waistband of my pants behind my back, out of sight.

The guy said nothing to me as a pair of Krektar began escorting me downhill at his command.

Nothing at all, like I was the dirt beneath his fancy boot heel.

I took great pleasure in knowing that his gold-embroidered leather was getting mud-soaked, but it was a meager satisfaction.

I should have stayed inside that cave, but the need to act had been so strong.

I didn’t know where Solear was, but maybe this was a distraction that would help him complete his mission.

Surely, a dozen guards away from the mansion—including their boss—would help him sneak in and out of there?

Or… what if he was dead? Was that how they knew to look for me?

Those thoughts consumed me on the torturous downhill walk to the mansion.

And the way I felt—the pain that made my chest squeeze tight until I couldn’t breathe—told me I had grown to care about my silent, snarly friend more than I had thought possible.

The kind of caring that perhaps really did come from a mate bond.

I didn’t want to believe he could be gone, as indomitable and strong as he’d been so far.

A sleek predator who had eluded their capture and stolen from under their noses.

He was scrappy, inventive, and while perhaps not subtle, he was definitely shrewd.

And sweet. Oh, he was so freaking sweet it made me want to believe, very much, that this was love. He deserved that.

Mud clung to my too-large boots with each sucking, plodding step.

The carnivorous plants did their best to attack my thinly protected legs, snapping with sharp teeth and barbs at my pants and skin.

The Krektar dragging me along didn’t seem to notice their presence and therefore didn’t bother avoiding the largest clumps either.

Goldie, with his brightly shimmering marks on his lush red skin, did notice, but he seemed to delight in my pain.

That made sense; he was the poster boy for sadists.

By the time we reached the courtyard outside the mansion, I had dozens of little cuts along my legs, but at least the boots and socks had protected my feet.

I was also covered by a fine sheen of clammy sweat along my spine, fear-inspired.

Fear for Solear. Fear for myself. Where was he?

Was he dead? That possibility felt more and more like a reality.

Inside the courtyard, everything was calm, but a silent crowd had gathered at the front door, awaiting our arrival.

I saw Keya and the other blue-skinned alien women among them, grim-faced.

Almost, it looked to me as if they were there to watch an execution.

Mine. I should never have left that stupid cave; I should have waited like a good girl for Solear to come back.

Only… what if he wasn’t coming back? This calmness among the watching servants and guards made me think Solear had never been here.

Unless they had him trapped somewhere, and I was about to witness his execution.