Page 34 of Guardian’s Destiny (Space Guardian’s Mate #3)

SLOANE

Damn that kiss still burned on my lips. And his words, I love you ? He couldn't have waited with that little declaration. Well, it wasn't little. It was huge. But it was the last thing I needed to think about right now. Damn Vraax for invading my mind when it should be solely focused on the freaking Arkhevari. What the hell was he doing here anyway?

I could have sworn he looked straight at me when he exited the spaceship as if he knew I was there. By what I had learned so far of the bastard, he probably did and was just mind fucking with me now. My worry had been that the Moggadesh, the sworn enemy of the Pandraxian empire, would get a hold of him, but with him in the hands of the Ohrur, Emperor Daryus should be able to negotiate his release without me interfering. Still, it was simply impossible for me to leave Zapharos here. No matter how unnerving his presence was, I was duty-bound to free him. Something he was fully aware of. Bastard.

I wouldn't put it past him to have himself allowed to be kidnapped just to mind fuck with me.

I wasn't worried about the mating marks acting up this time, sure that Zapharos would handle that, despite me having no clue how.

Keeping low to the ground, I rushed toward the first hangar, hiding in its shadows. I love you , came unbidden to my mind, stealing a smile from me. I was still mad at Vraax, but dangerous situations had a way of putting things in perspective, and right now, it was more important to admit my feelings than to fight with him, which we could still do later. Much later, after we had a long chat and after an even longer roll on the first mattress we ran into. I was glad he seemed to have finally seen the light of day, but I was upset that it took me pulling the Imperial Seal card before he did. I realized he was a lone wolf, never having worked in a chain of command organization—neither him nor the other Space Guardians. But he needed to learn if we were going to work as a team. I worked with his type before, men and women, who thought the only people in the world who could get anything done were them. He, too, needed to learn to trust. I was more than attracted to him. I liked the idea that he loved me; hell, I thought I loved him too, but this love between us needed a bit more time before I allowed myself to be all in. He had too much power already over me to hurt me. Already, I would be hard-pressed to move on from him, but I would if I had to. He couldn't have me if he didn't accept me and my experience, including my calling the shots when necessary.

The hangar I had chosen was busy; a quick glimpse inside showed me several Ohrurs working on three spaceships while others walked back and forth, bringing tools and whatever. Robots and drones moved about in abundance as well; there was no way for me to sneak by.

So I did the only thing I could do. I squared my shoulders and hoped that my human statue would make me appear like an Ohrur in the darkness. I made sure to avoid the light-flooded areas and walked with purpose. A lot of times, intruders got away by simply blending in.

When no shout of alarm reached me, I rushed to the next hangar as soon as I was out of sight. I leaned against the wall to catch my breath and calm my heart, which was beating a little faster than I liked it. But that couldn't be helped as adrenaline seared through my system. I was in my element. This was the kind of shit I liked. Sick, I know, but there it was. I always strove to be better than the others, the one that got in places nobody else did. It was a thrill that was hard to explain, but it made my heart pump and filled my head with endorphins. The higher the risk, the higher the high.

I looked back at the ruins I came from and watched two smaller shadows appear through the crack in the wall I had used, followed by a much larger, massive frame. Vraax. Good.

Pushing thoughts of the Space Guardian from me, I moved by the second hangar just like I had with the first. The third was already dark and closed, so that made it easier. And then I reached the building I had watched the Space Guardians take Zapharos to. I pulled out the blaster, set it to stun—there was no reason to kill with these babies and took a deep breath.

From here, anything could be possible. An alarm could blare out the moment I opened the door; it could be locked; it could open without any problems only for me to face the enemy. I allowed myself a moment of calm to visualize each scenario, hoping it wouldn't be the second.

The door opened the moment I stepped in front of it, no alarm blared, I moved the blaster quickly left to right, but there was nobody there. My adrenaline was almost disappointed that it didn't get a chance to prove its superiority.

I snuck down a well-lit corridor, blaster out; there was no way I could even try to blend in here. Whoever was unlucky enough to run into me would take a long nap.

I reached a corner and edged my way forward to check the hallway to the left and right. To the right, I made out two Space Guardians flanking a door. One noticed my movement.

"What…" aiming and shooting was one fluent move, and the Space Guardian went down, same with the second.

Quickly, I made my way over to the door, which, of course, wouldn't open. Great.

I spied a panel to the right of the door. I had never seen anything like this on the higher tech planets. It looked almost old-fashioned here, whereas on Earth, it was one of the highest security devices there were.

The question was if these things were palm print activated, or if they scanned eyes or something even more advanced my mind couldn't comprehend yet.

I opted for hand and pulled the first, unconscious Space Guardian forward, pressing his hand against it. Nothing.

Unperturbed, I heaved him up—God, he was heavy—pried his eyes open, still nothing.

I repeated the same process with the other—still nothing.

Fuck it.

I knocked.

With my blaster ready, I prepared to shoot whoever was on the other side. Turned out it was Zapharos, glaring at me. "Took you long enough."

Two Space Guardians lay crumbled in the corner. I had no idea if they were dead or alive. I figured with Zapharos, it was a fifty-fifty shot. I hadn't spent much time with the Arkhevari, but had he been human, the word psycho would have been the first to cross my mind. I didn't think that he had one ounce of a conscience.

"Hello, Zapharos," I replied, trying to mask my annoyance and relief that he was ready to go. It took me a few seconds to compute that thought. Ready to go? Why the hell was he here in the first place? If he took care of these Space Guardians so easily, why… "What do you want?"

"I need your help," he stepped forward, hovering unnervingly above me. Like always, when I was in his presence, I fought the urge to kill or fall to his feet to adore him.

"Help with what?" I sputtered.

"I'll tell you on the way. Let's go."

He didn't glance back to see if I was following him. He tsked when he stepped over the unconscious guards as if they were a major obstacle or as if he was put out having them in his way. His light, white hair looked almost golden in the light spilling out from above us as I followed him.

"I have friends," for a second I contemplated elaborating, but thought better of it, wanting to keep it as short as possible, "waiting for us aboard a ship. We need to get out of here."

"I know," he didn't even look back at me. He was so tall and wide that I easily hid behind his back, which came in handy when we ran into two more Space Guardians who had just entered the building.

"Hold it," one yelled.

"Sloane?" Zapharos’s nearly bored-sounding voice grated on me. Nevertheless, I didn't have a choice but to pop out from behind him and take the two Space Guardians down with two shots.

"We need to work on your response time." He declared impetuously.

I was tempted to shoot him. The only thing that stopped me was that I would have to be the one dragging his unconscious ass down the airfield. That and my curiosity was aroused. What was he looking for? What did he need my help with?

He entered an elevator, waving me in with an impatient move of his hand. Right. Asshole .

"Will you tell me now what we're looking for?" I asked as the elevator descended.

"How do you humans say in your line of work?" he sent one of his condescending looks at me, and the urge to plug his eyes out made my fingers itch.

"I have no idea?—"

"It’s a need-to-know basis," he nodded to himself as if just remembering.

The elevator came to a stop. Zapharos raised his hand for me to wait, then he waved me on to be at his back again, which made an excellent target. I even raised the blaster; I was really tempted now.

Why the hell wasn't he wearing a shirt? Or the cape he usually draped around his broad shoulders. At least I wasn't attracted to him any longer. Thank you, Vraax . It wasn't like I had been salivating over him, but there was something very appealing about him. From his tall frame to his muscular physique, not to forget the aura of power emanating from him that could make a girl dizzy.

Light danced over his skin as if it was made from diamonds. He was by far the most beautiful being I had ever laid eyes on. Complemented by his exotic appearance, he could make a saint salivate over him.

"Quit staring at me. Your Soulweb Glyphs give you away as someone's mate."

So he had noticed. I had been wondering.

"What are we doing here?" I asked, without acknowledging his latest reproof.

"Take care of them." He ordered suddenly.

"What? Who?" And then I heard the faint sound of footsteps. Zapharos stepped to the side as if it were beneath him to get his hands dirty when six Ohrurs came into sight. I had no idea how Zapharos had known, but now wasn't the time for questions. I opened fire, and all six ended up in a pile on the ground.

"You're welcome." I couldn't help but glare at Zapharos.

He grunted a reply, and the urge to kick him in the nuts made me lift my foot. He smirked. "I dare you."

"Fucking ass," I cussed. He laughed.

But then he lunged at me so unexpectedly that I didn't have time to respond. We landed on the ground, hard, right before several blasters fired at us. I couldn't see anything from the ground, where his heavy body nearly suffocated me. I bet he didn't see those coming . I would have smirked, but the situation was anything but smirkable. We laid there ripe for the pickings.

Or so I thought, until Zapharos was up even quicker than he had jumped on me. The two Space Guardians must have just exited a room when they saw us. Blasters went off; a gold shimmer enveloped Zapharos, making him look like a god of vengeance or an Archangel before he hit the Guardians' heads together with such brutality that I was sure their skulls cracked.

I rose to all fours, carefully taking stock of my body. Nothing seemed broken, but I was sure I had bruised a rip or two, as breathing was painful, and that just wasn't normal.

I glared at Zapharos. "You didn't have to kill them."

"They're not dead. That's what healing wands are for."

Another thought occurred to me, "You never were a prisoner, were you? You could have left anytime you felt like it."

The corner of his left lip raised in an arrogant line that reached all the way to his eyes. "This whole thing… what is this?" I demanded. Frustrated that I hadn't realized his full power sooner. I would have never fought with Vraax if I hadn't felt the urge to warn this son of a bitch and here he was smirking as if he was having the time of his life.

"I told you, I needed you. It seemed easier to intercept you here."

"How did you know I would be here?" I asked, exasperated.

"Oh, Sloane," he tsked and shook his head as if he was honestly puzzled. Oh, how I wished I could wipe that smirk off his face.

"Well?" Despite his insufferable presence, I kept my calm, and I was proud of it. It took a herculean effort, but I managed.

"Some things are already written in the stars," he declared enigmatically.

"Don't give me that BS, Zapharos. I want to know."

"Hmm, I think your species has evolved, if that isn't explanation enough for you anymore," he cocked his head at me as if I were a puzzle he needed to figure out.

He walked by me without glancing back or another word of explanation. Huffing in annoyance as he stepped over the pile of unconscious Ohrurs. God, I hoped we would part ways once we were done with… whatever he needed me for.

Wait, needed. He needed me for something. In my mind, I rubbed my hands together because I had leverage now. Hah!

I followed him down the hall, around another split-off until we reached a third. There, he stopped by the corner.

"Take care of them," he pointed around it.

"What if I don't?" I challenged, prepared to use my leverage to finally get some answers.

My answer did seem to take him aback. Score one, Sloane , I congratulated myself, ignoring the fact that it was probably eleven or twelve to one by now.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"Answers."

His deep, unsettling amber eyes narrowed at me. No matter how unnerving his gaze was, I held my ground. God, he was beautiful. One minute, he looked like a carving of Michelangelo’s angels, the next like the most handsome demon to have ever left hell. Scary as hell too, but I had stood up against… no, probably not. There was nobody who compared to him. I had faced some hardcore hostiles, but Zapharos took the cake. As I looked into his eyes, I swore I could see hellfire smoldering, with poor souls trapped inside.

"You're not ready yet," his voice grated on my nerves as much as his words. Did he think he was some kind of angel from medieval times?

"Well, I guess we'll have to wait then." I sent my most arrogant grin at him, which wasn't easy because the freak was over six feet tall, maybe more. He was taller than Vraax, and that was quite an accomplishment.

To reinforce my stance, I leaned against the wall. I would have crossed my arms over my chest, but I was still holding the blaster.

"You disappoint me, Sloane." He said, and it almost sounded sad. For a second, I even felt like a four-year-old being scolded by her mother. What the fuck?

The golden glow returned to his body, and he charged around the corner. Damn him. Before I made my way around it, two Space Guardians lay on the ground.

"Why the hell did I have to come? You obviously can take charge of this?—"

The doors to the room the Space Guardians had guarded opened. I raised my blaster and shot at the first two Ohrurs I saw, taking in the room we entered with abject horror.

"There," Zapharos pointed at another Ohrur, and I took him out without blinking or second-guessing Zapharos. "Oh, and over there," nonchalantly he pointed again.

While I checked for more hostiles, a woman cried out, "Zaph!"

Zaph ?

"You came."

I found another Ohrur hiding underneath one of the tables with an unfortunate victim strapped to it. I took him out before I looked at the man on the table. His silvery skin gave him away as a Space Guardian, but his pallor indicated he was dead.

I whirled around to confront Zapharos but was rendered speechless when I saw a slip of a woman clinging to him for dear life. Tears ran down her cheeks, and Zapharos was kissing them away.

"What the hell, Zaph ?" I yelled, turning in a slow circle, taking in a lab that looked like it came straight from one of Dante's nightmares.

Large, cylindrical containers stood against one wall. Inside floated terribly malformed bodies, all with silvery skin. Bile rose in my throat. Was this where the Ohrurs were breeding—bioengineering, lab-growing—Darlams? Was this where Vraax had been… engineered?

"Let's get out of here." Zapharos picked the woman up, who snuggled into his arms.

"Hold on," I yelled as they were almost at the door.

"What about the others?" the woman asked. "Zaph, you have to free them."

Others ? And again, Zaph ?

With all the horrors around me, I hadn't noticed the wall where Zapharos had picked the woman up from. It was filled with cages, with… more women inside. Mostly human, but I also saw two Pandraxians and three others whose origins I didn't know.

"Shit," I hastened to the cages, trying to open the first door, but it wouldn't budge. "Seriously Zapharos, get your ass over here and open them. Now!"

His sigh was loud and drawn out. "Oh Zaph," the woman nearly giggled, slapping his arm as if he was joking, which I was sure he wasn't. He would have walked out of here without a care in the world. Probably would have left me behind too… no, he still needed me for a ride. Bastard.

Whatever the woman saw in him, I had no clue. Either that or she was blind and deaf and feeble in the mind. Or a saint.

Zapharos began glowing golden again and barely touched the cage doors before they opened.

"Okay. Alright. Are you okay? Can you walk?" I asked the women as they emerged from their cramped quarters. The cages were so small I wouldn't have allowed a large dog to get into them.

I paled when I noticed that at least two of them were pregnant. An ungodly amount of fury rose up from deep inside me. I kicked one of the unconscious Ohrurs, contemplating shooting him, but he was out and wouldn't know what had happened to him. No, he needed a slow death.

"Do it," Zapharos whispered next to my ear. My head shot around, and I met his amber eyes. "You want to shoot him. Do it."

"Zaph," the woman's voice was reprimanding. "Don't."

The other women stared at me as if I were an aberration.

"You're safe. I'll take you to a safe place. I promise." My voice shook. "Can you walk?"

Hesitantly, all nine of them took a step forward and then another, leaning on each other, quietly sobbing.

"Are we really safe?" one of them asked.

"We just need to get to the ship," I assured her. "I'm Sloane."

"Edith," the woman introduced herself, then telling me the names of all the others, which became a blur. I only caught Claudia and Nadine. Oh, and Ella. The name of the woman in Zapharos’s arms.

"Let's go." I wasn't sure how far these women could walk, but I needed to get them out of here and quickly.