Page 27 of Seized by the Alien Space Warrior (Alien Romance #8)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“N o!” Her limbs shook and she clutched Aekon, her fingers blindly clawing his clothing. Her stomach lurched and time seemed to come to a standstill. Everything they’d gone through. The lives that had been lost. The poor people who had lived underground for too long all for nothing. She felt sick as disbelief warred with the reality of what she saw.

The sky erupted in a haze of bright blue lightening, striking each Ixod guard in the flash of an instant. They collapsed to the ground, blasters clattering over the gravel.

A bright light haloed over them. Ava blinked, shading her eyes with the back of her hand. Aekon whooped, a sound of relief mixed with joy. He scooped her up and placed her on her feet as her mind spun.

Behind her, Ser and the other Ixod stumbled to their feet. Ser helped Brenur to sit. He grimaced, clutching his arm. The Ixod guards who had them subdued were motionless on the ground as though they had been individually targeted.

“Wha…what’s happening?” she asked.

“My message got through! Thank the gods. I double-backed the message to the Interspecies Council to the Mercenary Star with the Securi-net code. They came.” Aekon pointed upwards at the huge ship that hovered above them.

“They’re your people?“ Ava gaped at the enormous ship that had appeared as though from nowhere.

“Ava, you’re safe now.” Aekon spun her about and then gently put her back on her feet as the elation faded from his face.

He had the look of someone who was hovering on the cusp of delivering bad news. Her stomach sunk. The Sanctuary. He was going to tell her now that they were rescued that he would take her to there and then he would leave. It was his duty, after all.

Ava swallowed deeply. “Stop twisting me around, Aekon. Tell me what it is.”

“I have to go after Zavis. He can’t leave the galaxy with the antimatter device,” Aekon said.

This wasn’t about the Sanctuary ? He wasn’t going to dump her. Relief poured through her, but then her mind caught up. She had a score to settle with Zavis as well. If this was going to be the start of a new life, she was going to start it the right way. If there was one thing she’d learned about building her career, it was that if she wanted something bad enough, she had to fight for it. “I’m going with you,” Ava replied.

His gaze trailed over her face, worry clouding his uncertainty. “It’s dangerous, Ava.”

She huffed out a dry laugh. “More dangerous than being caught up in a coup with Lion-Yeti creatures? More dangerous than being abducted right out of my bed and sold as a slave to the highest bidder? This has changed me, Aekon. I’m not the same woman I was two weeks ago. I’m scared, and I hurt, and I’m unsure, but I’m mad as hell. That asshole getting away from us bought me to do horrible things to me like I was nothing. He’s as bad as those Reptiles creatures that stole me. I want revenge. If I don’t get it now, it’s going to eat me up alive. I want to take my chances and make that bastard pay. You know what that feels like. So you can take me now, or forever know that this will eat me up from the inside if you make me stay.”

She panted, her breath coming hard and fast. Aekon’s face firmed as something like pride lit his eyes from within. He grabbed her hand and the next thing she knew, he bolted across the ground towards the closest craft. She raced to keep up with him. Aekon slammed his palm on a side panel and a door slid open. He leapt inside and, turning around, reached for her.

She grabbed his hand and her feet left the ground as he pulled her inside. She staggered against his hard body, her breasts flattening against the hard planes of his chest. Her abdomen throbbed in liquid arousal. His nostrils flared and his hands tightened on her biceps, desire writhing like a living thing between them.

Ava licked her dry lips, “When this is over, you’re going to explain every damn thing to me.”

Aekon kissed her hard, and she kissed him back with just as much passion, unable to hold back.

“As you wish.” His voice was honeyed whiskey.

She shivered as his full intentions washed through her addled brain. He stabbed a button next to the door. It slid closed in an instant. The silence of the craft was disconcerting after the raw sounds of battle.

“Come,” he said.

Dull lights faded on and Ava followed Aekon into the cabin. He took one seat and she slipped into the other. Before her was a console made up of a complex arrangement of lights and buttons.

“Do you know how to fly this thing?” she asked.

“Yes.”

His fingers flew over the panel and the whole panel lit brightly. He eased his fingers over a screen that seemed to be filled with a black gel and the ground dropped away. Or rather, they rose into the air faster than her stomach could keep up.

She clenched her teeth, fighting to keep the contents of her stomach inside her where she liked her food to be. Above them glowed a light blue grid. It looked like a fishing net surrounding the planet but right above them was a round black hole.

“I take it that’s where your friends came through the Securi-net?”

“And where we’re going out,” Aekon said.

His face was set in tense lines as they shot upwards. Ava clenched the arm rests as they cleared the hole and then the darkness of space surrounded her, cold and dark in its infinite reach. She’d never seen stars so bright, or so many. To her left, a gigantic pink cloud of dust hung suspended against the inky backdrop, sparkling with indigo and red speckles. Stars of different colours and sizes twinkled within the pink swirl of cosmic dust, worlds upon world upon worlds. To her right, a sparkle of red and orange lights swirled in a beautiful hypnotic mix of colours.

“What’s that?”

“The GeoPass wormhole. The same one that spat us out onto Venturi,” Aekon said.

He slid his claw-tipped fingers over the gel panel. White lights elongated and streaked over the view screen and the orange light display grew larger as they shot forward.

“Are we going to go through it?” Ava asked.

“Not if I can stop Zavis before he reaches it.” Aekon’s gaze was focussed as the muscle at his temple clenched. “The crazy drekker will be crushed in the wormhole. His craft isn’t strong or big enough.”

“Then let him go in there,” Ava said. She’d love to see his craft explode from the safety of her seat.

The side of Aekon’s lip lifted and his eyes glowed with interest, “I like this bloodthirsty side of yours, but we can’t let him get that far. There’s no telling what damage it might cause to the space-time stream if the antimatter device explodes in the wormhole with him.”

“Shit,” Ava muttered. She peered through the viewscreen at Zavis’ craft, heart thundering in her chest. Two small twin bursts of fire headed right towards the wormhole. A being like him wouldn’t care what destruction he caused. It was likely he headed there on purpose.

“Are we going to get there in time?”

Aekon’s hands tightened on the controls. “We have to.”

The wormhole glowed just before it spat out hundreds of craft, much larger than theirs. Zavis’ little craft was too close. Too close to stop. There was a burst of sparks as he glanced off the side of a much larger ship before he spiralled away.

Aekon cursed and shoved the controls back, his biceps bulging. They were coming towards them too fast as well. They careened away, nearly collecting a ship as Zavis had done. They spun in a tight roll that made her stomach churn before Aekon brought the craft back under control.

“Drek. Where did he go?” Aekon said.

Ava glimpsed Zavis’ craft spinning towards an asteroid before it disappeared into deep shadow. She pointed after it. “There!”

“Got him,” Aekon said.

“That’s a large rock,” Ava said.

“It’s a mining asteroid. You can see the caves, right there,” Aekon said. “Zavis is probably hiding in one of them. They have their own atmosphere, even if they are cold as the seven hells.”

Now that Aekon pointed them out, Ava saw multiple holes hacked into the surface. There were so many of them. “He could be anywhere down there,” she said

Aekon pressed several buttons on the control panel, and a topographical map veneered the viewscreen. Light blue longitudinal and latitudinal lines overlaid the surface of the rock they flew over.

“One thing about Ixod craft. They can track each other. All we have to do is get close enough,” Aekon said.

“Ixod craft. Stay where you are. You are in violation of the Interspecies Rights Three-Oh-One-One. Cut your engines and be prepared to be brought in,” a disembodied voice sounded from somewhere Ava couldn’t determine.

Her fingers tightened so hard they might have cracked the metal armrests. “Aekon?”

“Do not worry, Ava.”

Aekon pressed a button. “This is warrior Aekon Va’etods. I am in pursuit of an Ixod criminal hiding on the asteroid below. He is in possession of a dangerous weapon.”

There was a pause, before the disembodied voice spoke. “Glad to see you back in communication, warrior. Do you need help?”

Aekon glanced at Ava. “Negative. I have help on board, but stand ready.”

“Copy, warrior. I have a team on standby now.” The voice cut off.

Nerves jangled in her stomach. Aekon had the help of trained soldiers, ready and willing to help. All she had was rage burning in her gut and no real skills to speak of. This might not be the good idea she thought it was.

“Do you really mean that?” Ava asked.

Aekon eased the craft closer to the asteroid. A stationery red light blipped on the lines as they crossed over an inky hole. A wisp of smoke trailed from the hole, so fine she would have missed it if it wasn’t for light on the map.

“You’re right, Ava,” Aekon said.

“About what exactly?” She’d said a few things to him of late and she wondered which one he alluded to.

“About the need for revenge.” The knowing look in his eyes was ancient, sad, and hungry. If she had a mirror, she might see that look in her own eyes.

“Yes, but you’ve been offered help and this is…just us.”

What if she made a mistake and made things worse? What if Zavis got away because she’d overestimated her abilities? The team of warriors would come in and wipe Zavis out without breaking a sweat, she could imagine. They were trained professionals, like Aekon, while she was just a fitness trainer when it came down to it.

“Since when is revenge not personal, my Ava,” Aekon said.

Aekon needed revenge more than she did. Although Zavis had hurt them both, Aekon had lost half of his soul. He had suffered far too much for one being.

She curled her hand around his, her grip sure and firm. “And we will do this together.”

“Yes. Together.”

A slow smile curved his luscious mouth. It transformed his face into something devastatingly handsome. His nodes flashed a bright gold, highlighting his chiselled cheeks, dark charcoal skin, and luminous eyes. He was so alien, but he was Aekon and she knew her heart would never be the same.

Nor did she want it to.

“Let’s get that fucking bastard,” she said.

“That is something I totally agree with.”

It didn’t matter that she was a fitness trainer. Aekon would protect her no matter what, and she would protect him back the best she could.

Aekon dipped the nose of the craft down and they descended into the hole. Although it was dark, the brightness of the fire devouring Zavis’ craft lit the cavern better than any lighting.

“ Drekking hells. We need to check for the device and get it out of the flames before we find Zavis,“ Aekon said.

This wasn’t just about Zavis; she had to remember that. This was about retrieving a device that could devastate a universe and flames were a bad thing around any sort of explosive device.

Aekon set the craft down with a slight thump. He wasted no time unharnessing them both and Ava followed him from the little cabin to the exit door. He paused. “Are your blasters charged?”

She pulled both blasters free from her holsters, and checked the indicator level. “Eighty percent.”

Not bad since she’d let off a few shots of her own. The weight of the blasters felt right in her hands.

Aekon withdrew his own blasters, giving her a nod. “Keep them drawn and be ready for anything.”

He opened the door and jumped down. He turned, gripped her waist, and helped her down. The sharp stench of stale air and acidic burning plastic assaulted her nostrils.

“Stay with me, Ava,” Aekon said.

She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I’m good.”

They walked towards the burning craft, which was mostly engulfed in flames. She eyed it warily, tension wrapping her bones in ice. How on Earth were they going to get in there and find the device?

The sound of rocks clattering took her attention.

“Aekon!” Ava swung her blaster into the shadows.

Aekon growled and strode towards whatever was there. Her heart hammered as he dragged something large from behind a boulder. It took her a moment to see what he moved. Shaggy hair covered its face. Its clothing was torn and between the gaping clothing was a mess of burned flesh and oozing blood.

Ava covered her mouth, fighting her gag reflex as the smell of burned flesh reached her nose. The thing groaned as Aekon flipped it onto its back none too gently.

“Zavis!” Ava gasped.

Zavis stared at Aekon, defiant despite his pathetic state, peeling his lips back in a sneer to reveal long, white canines. “Well, well, Dhasu. Seems like I should have finished the job when I killed your bond-mate and I wouldn’t be staring at your ugly face again.” His gaze slid to Ava and she fought the urge to shiver as his gaze raked over her. “Almost don’t recognise you with clothes on, human scum. Take them off and let’s continue what we started.”

Aekon kicked Zavis in his side. Zavis grunted, taking the hit.

Zavis stared at Aekon through slitted eyelids. “You wouldn’t fight an injured being. That’s not what a warrior of the famous Mercenary Division would do, would it? You’re all about compassion and fairness.”

“Not for the likes of you, Ixod, who murder innocent females,” Aekon said.

He slammed the back of his hand against Zavis’ cheek. Zavis’ head whipped sideways. He drew a breath and spit out a blob of dark blood, landing at Ava’s feet.

“Human females are only good for one thing. Had a go at her yet, Dhasu? There’s something about them and their hot, wet cunts. Even you’d be tempted…Oh, I see you’ve indulged. Why don’t you let me have her and we can compare notes? I’ll do you a favour and kill her for you as well. A two for one deal, as it were.” Zavis chuckled.

Aekon slammed his foot into Zavis’ stomach and his fist beneath his jaw. Ava flinched with each impact. Aekon stood over Zavis, breathing heavily.

Aekon’s whole body shook. He clenched his fists, digging his claws into his palms. His lips were pulled back, showing his tightly gritted teeth. Tension, despair, and fury pounded off him in waves. His nostrils flared with each beating breath and a low growl vibrated from his chest.

Aekon was becoming lost to his revenge again. Only this time, it was more powerful than she’d ever witnessed. So powerful it seemed it would swallow him whole.

Ava reached for Aekon, her hand wavering in the air.

“Aekon,” she whispered.

He spun around, his nodes flushed with dull red. The light gave his skin a red tint. With his nodes, flared nostrils, and glowing eyes, he looked more like a devil, than the Aekon she knew.

Maybe his rage had finally overcome him. Maybe he was too far gone and there was nothing she could do to reach him.

But there was one thing, wasn’t there? They were connected. She’d felt more of his emotions pour through her than ever before. He’d opened up to her.

She concentrated on the emotions pulsing through her. The agony. The loss. The intense pain.

She sent back the only thing she could: understanding. From that, candour followed, and finally the one emotion that ruled over all. She didn’t know until she reached deep down and found it. It had crept up on her, so gradually she hadn’t noticed.

She imagined golden light streaming through the both of them, joining them together, and then sent a surge of love towards him. They were bound on a far deeper level than their experiences, their physical bodies, or even their minds. Something much stronger than life had brought them together, made from the fabric of the universe.

She embraced the gift from the gods. It wasn’t just for Aekon.

It had been given to the both of them.

Suddenly, she didn’t feel so small or the universe so large. She was strengthened. She reached into his soul, tearing away the darkness that lingered there, filling it with light. Pure love. Her soul. Binding them the way it should have done when they’d made love.

“Ava.” Aekon staggered towards her, gathering her in his arms. “My Ava. My bond-mate. My love.”

She kissed him then. Kissed him as the two halves on one soul came together. Desire strummed through her body, liquid arousal pouring through her veins. Her nipples beaded and her groin swelled and throbbed.

“Aw. Isn’t that nice. Is it my turn next?”

Aekon pulled back from their kiss, breathing heavily. He pressed his forehead to hers, his lips glistening from their kiss. “We will take this up later.”

Ava breathed out a laugh, her knees shaking with the pure need that coursed through her body. “I think I’ve heard that before.”

“It’s a promise but first there is something I need to do.”

Aekon strode towards Zavis, clenched one fist in the front of his clothing, lifting his chest off the ground, and lowered his face towards the Ixod. “Where’s the device?”

Zavis’ broken chuckle echoed around the cavern. “You’re too late. It’s gone up in flames.”

Aekon slammed his fist into Zavis’ face. Blood poured from his nose.

“We wouldn’t be standing here if it had. If you tell me, I’ll let you live.”

Zavis laughed, the sound making Ava’s flesh crawl. “I don’t have it! Stupid Dhasu. You always make the mistake of thinking others think like you. Now you’ll never know where it is. I can only dream of the day when the Ixod empire takes over the ten Quadrants. It will be glorious. I serve Baxklet in life and in death.”

Aekon roared and slammed his fist into Zavis’ face again. Zavis’ head jerked back, and his body went limp. Aekon threw him to the ground, staggering away from Zavis’ prone, unconscious form.

“Is he…?” Ava pulled her eyes off Zavis.

Aekon wrapped his arms about her. Every muscle in his body was locked tight, strumming with tension.

“Death is too good for him. I look forward to our interrogation when I get him aboard the Mercenary Star. He knows more than he’s saying,” Aekon said.

For a male who had defeated a being who had stripped him of his life, he didn’t look as though he’d won any victory at all.

“What’s going on, Aekon?’ Ava asked.

“He was a diversion, my Ava. Baxklet played us. He’s taken the device somewhere. It could be anywhere. We have failed.”

A flash of bright orange lit the cavern. Aekon dug his fingers into her and shock washed across his face. He sagged against her and she staggered beneath his weight. His eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a pain-filled groan. His head lolled backwards and he slipped out of her desperate grasp.

Zavis grinned as he lowered his blaster to the ground. A distant roar sounded in Ava’s ears as Aekon’s dead weight pulled her to the ground.

“No! Aekon, no!”

The sound of Zavis’ laughter filled the cavern. Heat washed over her, filling her veins with liquid rage. Her fingers curled around her blaster. She aimed and fired. Zavis’ face disintegrated as his brain exploded over the wall behind him. There was no more laughter. Just the crackling of the fire engulfing Zavis’ craft.

“Aekon. Aekon!” Her shrilled voice echoed off the rock walls.

A burnt mess of charred flesh covered Aekon’s back. Her hands fluttered over him, blind panic filling her head.

She called his name, tapped his cheek, but he didn’t so much as open his eyes. He was still. So still. Too still. She held a shaking hand over his mouth, waiting, waiting. Finally, a puff of breath escaped. Barely there.

“God, oh God, oh God.” She had never been the praying type but now she put her heart and soul into those favoured words. “Please let him live. Please.”

But she was on a rock. A floating asteroid. And she had no idea how to get off, let alone fly a craft, or get his body on board the craft. God, she was going to lose Aekon. The only man that had earned her heart.

Sobs racked her body and tears poured down her face. Fuck the universe. She couldn’t lose him. She wasn’t going to lose him. She’d been gifted a mate-bond and there was no way she was going to let him die now. Not after what they’d both been through.

Dragging in a shaky breath, she forced the blind panic down.

Think, Ava. Think .

She wasn’t alone. There was a whole squadron of Aekon’s people standing by to help. She scrambled into the craft and into the cabin. She had no idea what button to press so she just spoke. “Hello? Hello!”

Nothing. She stepped to the panel, her eyes dancing over the complex array of controls. She reached out a shaky hand, not knowing which control to press when a voice spoke, “This is the Mercenary Division.”

Ava collapsed against the back of the pilot’s chair.

“Oh, thank God. You have to help. Aekon is…” Her throat tightened. Her words cut off. “Please you have to help. He’s severely injured and I’m stuck here. He’s going to die if…”

She couldn’t force the words out. Tears streamed down her face and she sobbed into her hands in whole body tremors. What if they couldn’t locate her? What if they didn’t believe her? What if they thought she was making this all up? What would she do then? What if they’d come all this way only to fail now?

Aekon couldn’t die thinking he’d failed. He hadn’t failed at all. He was the strongest male, who owned a beautiful, damaged soul. He’d saved her in more ways than one. He had to know he was everything . He couldn’t die not knowing that.

He just couldn’t.

“We’ve got a lock on you. Landing in three clicks.”

Her knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor.