Page 1 of Veras (Nozaroc Alien Warrior #2)

Present Day

T he beast is… magnífico.

I pressed my face against the invisible force field to study one of the most terrifyingly beautiful creatures I’d ever seen. Since I’d been abducted and dumped on an alien planet almost five years before, that was saying a lot.

Massive, with deep purple scales and a startling mango plume, it prowled and swiped at the handlers maneuvering it into submission.

It had eight legs, two sets in the back and front—each muscled limb tipped in razor-sharp claws.

Impossible to gauge its size from a distance, I peered down at it from the alien equivalent of box seats.

I imagined it stood as tall as a dragon without its wings.

Its fearsome teeth shredded almost a dozen of the bird-like alien handlers, and I silently cheered as it slashed through the group. Because we both knew that whatever they planned to do with the alien-dragon wouldn’t be good.

A backdrop to the bloodshed, I glimpsed the raw alien landscape.

It still took my breath away. The U-shaped arena appeared minuscule against the ebony mountains that stood higher than the cloud line.

A chain of them, jagged peaks striped in gold, dominated the barren land.

Beyond their dark beauty loomed the most incredible sight I’d ever seen or imagined.

A massive blue sun shone through golden, swirling skies.

The startling contrast to Earth’s atmosphere was a constant reminder that I was lifetimes away from home.

The alien beast roared, and my eyes refocused on the arena. I drank him in, willing him to fight. To win! No te rindes, I silently chanted. As if straight out of a horror movie, the monster tore off an alien’s head, tossed it in the air, and chomped it down like a snack. Don’t give up , I repeated.

Mid bite, it spun its massive head around, snapping shut its shark-like maw as it searched the crowd, golden eyes landing directly on me.

As if… it heard me.

I fell into the monster’s gaze. A dull ringing tickled my ears. The irritation increased, and faint pressure crested like waves against my temples. Not exactly painful, but the sensation transmitted feelings , a deep sadness and anger that was so fierce and specific, it eclipsed my own.

As if the beast could—

“Teeth- teeth ? Your pet has teeth? In its mouth? I must see them- them .” A bird-like Aavvee, the dominant species of the planet, sidled up and studied me instead of the alien-dragon below. “How- how does it mate? Reproduce?” he called behind him.

I scrambled away from the inquisitive alien. The connection to the tortured beast below disconnected abruptly, and its loss staggered me. For a few precious moments, I’d forgotten where I was, forgotten the constant danger surrounding me.

“Show- show me, Pet. Now.” The alien chirped and puffed out his chest.

I wasn’t surprised by his demand; it happened every day on this hijo de la puta planet.

I didn’t bother addressing him. Instead, I hunched low and scurried toward the vile of a substance I call Oro, a golden liquid that made this planet so unique.

It was a drug to the Aavvee, but it was also a necessity to survive the harsh climate of this world.

It allowed me to breathe the air, understand my captors, and communicate. If I ever decided to speak.

Not that they’d given me anything more than the barest amount to stay alive. Even now, I knew I had a few days, tops, before I collapsed from the inhospitable planet.

Don’t think about tomorrow. All you’ve got is today.

“Open- open wide. Must, must see those teeth.” The creeper alien jumped in front of me and reached out with surprising speed, grasping my face in his clawed hand.

He stood around my height, a little over five and a half feet, small-framed with a large head at least three times the size of mine.

This particular one had a small beak instead of a mouth, large bulbous eyes, and mottled feathers that flowed up and over its teardrop head.

I clamped my mouth shut and planted my feet. If this redundant pendejo wanted to see inside my mouth, he was going to have to work for it.

Not that he’s gonna like what he finds.

“Fascinating- ting . They have fleshy protrusions instead of beaks. But, but how do they eat?” He squeezed my cheeks so hard, my eyes watered. “ Open -open up!”

“Leave- leave it be.” My current owner, and the head honcho of this place, tittered and sat back in his tiny chair. “We- we have more important matters at hand,” the squat supreme proclaimed. “But- but first, my glrtsstlllloroggg .”

Glrtsstlllloroggg was the alien word for Oro, one I couldn’t begin to pronounce. His anatomy allowed him to make sounds I couldn’t fathom.

I tried to back out of Creeper’s hold, but he wouldn’t let go.

He was about to ruin all my hard work. It’d taken years to curry the alien supreme’s favor.

After groveling and serving him nonstop, I’d earned the right to dispense the Oro.

Because it had to be fitted into an injector with a long needle at the end, the Aavvee supreme didn’t trust many to administer the shot—directly into his eye, for maximum effect.

“So- so soft.” Creeper alien persisted in a harsh lisp. “I can imagine how it might feel on my…” He opened his mouth, and a thin tube, wet and leathery, slithered out and slapped me in the eye.

Thwap!

If I lived a thousand years, I would never get used to the feel of alien junk. The stench of Creeper’s pito made my knees buckle, a sickening combination of fermented fish and death, all rolled into one.

That’s right. These skinny little fuckers had dicks for tongues and this predator was about to get a rude awakening about human anatomy.

His fingers tightened. The inside of my cheek cut into my teeth, but still, I took my time, slowly spreading my lips in the widest smile he’d ever seen. A female alien opening her mouth was the human equivalent of a woman spreading her legs.

He was…enraptured.

Big mistake. Before he could retract the slippery little sucker, I opened wide and clamped my teeth around the rubber-like tip.

It made me gag, but I had to teach him a lesson or else he’d return for a little more lip-lovin’.

Because when these horny little suckers caught a glimpse of my tongue, they fell in love.

Ni a putas!

I had to scare the shit out of him to make sure he never, ever tried to find me again.

I’d made that mistake once before. One of the alien dignitaries had been obsessed with my mouth and thought I would be too afraid to use my teeth.

I’d awoken one night with him straddling me with his dick-tongue down my throat. I almost didn’t survive the attack.

Creeper screeched and lunged back. His rough cloak fell open, giving me a view of his naked body. No genitalia, no nipples, just splotchy yellow skin and a large hole where he excreted waste.

“Did- did you see what she did to me? She- she bit me! Bit- bit my…” For world conquerors, they acted downright prudish about describing anything sexual. They wouldn’t say it but had no problem doing it. Everywhere.

I kept smiling. Couldn’t help myself. Satisfaction coated me like a thick layer of paint, and I couldn’t stop grinning. Victories were hard won on this planet, and I rejoiced.

“Silence- ence . Leave my pet alone. I’m sure she was only showing some sort of alien affection. Come- come , I need my medicine! My Glrtsstlllloroggg. ” The supreme pointed toward the forcefield. “Then-th en we watch.”

Creeper fled the room, clutching his spindly hand over his face. I stifled my laugh.

“Are you quite done?” A deep voice boomed through the room, and my lips snapped shut.

I’d spent so much time concentrating on Creeper that I’d let down my guard. I’d ignored the biggest threat in the room. Inkonexo. He’d been hiding in the shadows, and I’d actually forgotten about him.

Boba , how stupid can you be? Mistakes like that get humans like you killed.

The deadly Aavvee stood broader and wider than the others. There was a sense of menace surrounding him. He didn’t trill or prance like a chicken-alien, he remained as still as stone… always watching.

His golden gaze caught mine, and I almost pissed my pants.

There was power and knowledge behind his eyes.

I crouched down and made myself as small as possible.

It’d been my defense mechanism, my way to survive the past five years.

I also never spoke and never revealed my strongest asset—my calculating brain.

Most of the Aavvee thought I had the intelligence of a farm animal, only capable of simple tasks.

Dead wrong.

They had no idea of the size of my spirit and the strength of my mind.

I spent every second planning… and planning some more, surviving because I made myself indispensable.

The supreme could kill me on a whim, but I anticipated his wants and needs before he did, and my squat, little owner loved his luxuries.

Inkonexo brushed against me. I’d done everything in my power to avoid him, to make sure I never appeared worthy of notice.

Today, my luck ran out. Everything about him screamed danger.

He didn’t only feel different than the others, he dressed differently, with pants and boots.

The supreme and his cohorts didn’t bother with clothing other than brightly colored capes with dark cowls that framed their heads and feathers.

On this planet, it isn’t about the motion of the ocean… but the size of the beak.

Inkonexo yanked my head back, exposing my neck. As soon as he met my eyes, his own began to swirl, and a searing pain pierced my skull, turning my brain to mush. It felt like an invasion. A violation.

Be small, be small, I chanted, and retreated to the furthest part of my mind, where no one could reach—a dissociative state I’d lived in the first months upon arrival. The shock of the abduction had rendered me comatose. Luckily, because the aliens hadn’t seen a human before, they’d left me alone.

“I want your secrets.” Inkonexo’s grip tightened, forcing my gaze up even as I repeated my mantra.

Another slice cut through my temple like a precision laser.

I almost blacked out, but still, I chanted .

Be small. “When we are done here, I know exactly where your tight little slit is. I will use you where there are no teeth to be found.” He thrust his hips forward when the supreme turned away and shoved me so hard I hit my forehead on the dirt floor.

“Let us get this done. I want to study the beast, the brutoo . Something doesn’t feel right.” Inkonexo strode toward the force field.

I glanced at the arena below. The beautiful monster was losing ground.

Over forty Aavvee surrounded the beast, and one had managed to attach a metal collar to its neck.

I didn’t bother to touch the same deadly cuff I wore around my neck.

If the brutoo had been collared, there was nowhere he could escape. Nowhere to go.

The sulky supreme banged on the force field and whirled around, his happy demeanor dropping like a heavy cloak. “I need my Glrtsstlllloroggg !” he screeched. His cranberry feathers opened with a snap before settling back over his head and neck.

I crawled to the Oro as fast as I could, my head still pounding from the blow.

The supreme had killed other pets for less, and I’d never messed up this much before.

Normally, the smallest twitch made me react to his mood.

The fact that he had to ask three times made my heart beat outside my chest. With shaky hands, I loaded the transmitting gun, placed a tube of the dancing liquid inside, and rushed toward him.

“Enough! We’ve wasted enough time. We go down to the beast.” Inkonexo stared down the supreme.

My hand paused in midair. For once, I had no idea what to do. No one ever dared speak to the supreme in such a tone. Not in all the time I’d known him. Discreetly, I watched through my lashes as I crouched on the floor, ready to spring up and shove the needle into his eye the minute he agreed.

But to my utter surprise, the supreme stiffened and said, “Yes- yes , I was going to say the same myself.” He rolled his large black eyes away from Inkonexo and caught me watching him.

Mierda . Another huge mistake on my part. I should never have witnessed his shame, his embarrassment at acquiescing to Inkonexo. I shuffled back, seeking the shadows, to make up for my blunder.

“We- we will go.” The supreme trilled, his cranberry plumage standing straight on end. This was why the supreme was in charge. His feathers were five feet tall, razor sharp, and deadly. He whipped out a hand and grabbed my collar. “But- but I want my pet with me. She has much to learn- learn .”