Coletti Warlords: Reality Bites (6 page)

With stiff fingers, I pulled a skunk bomb out of my backpack, set the timer, and rolled it at Mog.

Bang!
A cloud of toxic spray filled the room.

My eyes began to water, and I coughed up a lung. That batch was really strong.

Mog and the teddy bears immediately started vomiting and rushed for the door.

About freaking time. Grabbing my gun, I sited in on the cyborg and his furry friends as they struggled to fit through the door at the same time. Holy hell, the idiots were literally tearing each other apart in their mad need to get away from the smell.

Since they were doing a damned fine job of killing one another, it was almost a shame to waste my bullets on them.

Honking wildly, Mog turned and fired at me.

The laser beam took out the transporter controls.

“Good shootin’, asshole.” I emptied my pistol at him.

Bullets pinging off his metal head, Mog threw himself over the pile of bodies and fell into the corridor. His furious quacks echoed off the walls.

Whatever Jaylan had given me was working. I could actually move again. I staggered over to the door, kicked a bear leg out of the way, and hit the lock. It probably wouldn’t keep the Hus Pings out for very long, but hopefully the smell would.

Wheezing gasps filled the sudden silence.

Icy tendrils of fear skittered up my spine. I could barely feel Jaylan’s life force. It suddenly hit me. If he died, I died. The link between us was too strong. Even if by some miracle I did survive, I’d be on Mog’s dinner menu.

Despair quivered through me. Everything I knew about myself had been upended. I needed him. I hungered for his touch. I would follow him into hell. The ruthless warlord
was
my mate. How fucked-up was that?

Dropping to my knees beside Jaylan, I locked my mind with his and fell into an endless black void. Cold. It was so cold. Agonizing pain tore through me, and I struggled to breathe. We were dying.

No! Not today. I drew on every ounce of power I had and struggled to keep Jaylan from dying. The cold wrapped around me, leeching my strength and pulling me down into the beckoning blackness. Voices of the dead whispered to me, sighed, and screamed in murderous fury.

His heartbeat slowed. Rage suddenly vibrated through every cell of my body.
“What kind of warlord are you? Only a coward would let that fucking cyborg win. Fight, dammit! I can’t do this without your help.”

The breath rattled in Jaylan’s chest.

“C’mon, you’re Zarek’s best hunter. Coletti warriors don’t ever give up.”

Jaylan’s voice was a faint whisper in my head.
“Not. Coward. Coletti.”

“Then act like one.”
I couldn’t heal him and hold back death at the same time.

The predator in Jaylan awoke, and his life force flared weakly.
“Protect. Mate. Kill Mog.”

“You’re damned right you will.”
I quickly channeled my healing energy into his body. Jaylan’s labored breathing steadied. The torn flesh on his neck and face regenerated.

My hand slipped in Jaylan’s blood. Oh God. He had lost so much. If I let him feed from me now, I wasn’t sure I’d have enough juice left to finish mending his broken bones. I placed my hands on Jaylan’s chest and focused on easing his ribs back in place.

Bam!
The door shuddered from a heavy blow.

Mog was back. A wave of exhaustion rolled over me, and my concentration faltered. Shit. My strength was gone. If I didn’t get him back into fighting shape, we were doomed.

A small nodule of power in Jaylan’s head drew my attention. Why hadn’t I noticed that before? All the energy I needed was right there, waiting for me. Had Zarek booby-trapped Jaylan’s mind? Did it matter? Sooner or later, Mog and his furry friends would break in.

I tapped in to it. Whoa! What a rush. It was like being hit by lightning. I fixed my attention on healing Jaylan’s ribs and smiled as they knitted together.

Without warning, an absolutely terrifying entity wrapped around my mind and sifted through my memories.

A jolt of raw fear shook me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break the connection or stop him. What kind of creepy, alien monster did I have stuck in my head?

A savagely dangerous voice asked,
“Creepy, alien monster?”

I was so dead. I should have known
he
would be monitoring his hunter.
“Are you Zarek, the all-powerful Overlord of the Coletti Clans?”
Please say no. Please say no.

“I am.”

Fuck it.
“If you’re going to kill me, do it, but I’m not apologizing for borrowing a smidgen of your power to keep Jaylan alive.”

“Your willingness to fight for your mate is the only reason you weren’t punished.”

“He’s not my mate,”
I snapped.

“Yet you risked death to save him.”

He had me there.
“Do I have your permission to put Jaylan back together?”

Zarek’s enormous power crackled through me.
“You do.”

I reveled in the energy cascading through me and sent it into Jaylan’s jaw and arm. Relief flooded me as he healed perfectly. Jaylan’s life force grew stronger, but he was still unconscious.
“He needs blood.”

“A Hus Ping is an acceptable donor.”
Borrowing my telekinesis, Zarek dragged a huge teddy bear over to us.

I pulled the knife from my boot and sliced open the moaning bear’s arm, letting the blood run into Jaylan’s mouth. “C’mon, c’mon, that cyborg’s gonna break in.” I rubbed his throat. “C’mon, Skippy, swallow. That’s a good boy. You can do it.”

“Drink,”
Zarek commanded drily.

Jaylan immediately sank his fangs into the arm and drank deeply.

Why in the hell hadn’t he done that earlier?
“Please tell me the cavalry’s coming.”

“Jaylan’s warriors are dealing with a Rodan attack on the Mars outpost.”

“So we’re on our own?”

“My hunter knew the risk when he hijacked the Hus Pings’ supply shuttle to rescue you.”

“Yeah, Jaylan’s got more balls than sense.”

“Why do you try to hide what you are?”

Talk about being blindsided. How much had bigmouth told him? When in doubt, lie.
“I’m not hiding anything. The fact is, I have no desire to be a broodmare or give up my humanity to become an alien freak.”

Zarek countered with a cold fury.
“You little fool, did you really think I wouldn’t recognize my own kin?”

What? Every nerve in my body twanged with shock and denial.
“There’s no way in hell I’m related to you.”

“Thor was my son.”

All my pent-up anger bubbled out.
“Well, Gramps, your precious son turned my mother into his blood whore.”

“An unfortunate necessity.”
Zarek’s tone was lethally matter-of-fact.

Pain twisted my heart
. “Because he already had a mate?”

“Yes.”

“Any siblings I should know about?”

“Mera bore Thor no children.”

I took a deep breath to ease the constriction in my chest.
“My sperm donor’s dirty little secret is safe with me. I want nothing to do with his family or you.”

“Colettis never abandon their children. If I had known of your existence, I would have come for you.”

“Right, because psychic females are such a valuable commodity.”

Zarek’s anger burned through my mind.
“I will not apologize for doing what is necessary to save our race.”

“And you just made my point. I’m nothing to you except a broodmare you need to rebuild your empire.”

“You are your father’s daughter.”
Was there was a touch of pride in his voice?

Another blow shook the door. Mog and his furry minions were getting impatient

“Place your explosive a meter from the control panel. The resulting feedback will knock out all the power in the ship,”
Zarek instructed.

“Yes, sir.”
Opening the heel of my boot, I took out a wad of explosives and stuck it on the wall.

The transporter room door began to glow.

The idiots were now trying to burn their way in? I quickly pushed the timer on my watch and grabbed my backpack.

Crack!
The power died.

Zarek channeled energy into my mind.

An inky blackness blossomed around me. Poof! Jaylan and I had been teleported inside an old shuttlecraft that looked like it had been made from leftover parts.

“I’ve got to learn how to do that.”

“Once you’re fully Coletti, teleporting will come easily to you.”

“Gee golly, that makes me giddy with excitement.”

“Your sarcasm will not be tolerated.”

I jumped about a foot when a sharp pain zapped me in the butt. “Ouch!”

“Have I made my point?”
His question was a rumbling growl.

“Yes, sir.”
Colettis were sure into spankings. Rubbing my sore butt, I eyed the patched-together control panel and mismatched seats.
“I’m a bit surprised this piece of junk can even fly.”

“It should be capable of getting you to the nearest habitable planet.”

“If you say so.”
I patted Jaylan’s face.
“Wakey, wakey.”

“You will pilot the shuttle.”

“Me?”
Was Gramps nuts?
“I don’t know how to fly a spaceship.”

“Take a seat, and I will show you.”

“Yes, sir.”
I slid hesitantly into the pilot’s chair. This should be fun.

Zarek merged with me. Thousands of images and memories suddenly spun through my head.

“Whoa! I can’t—”

“You can and will.”
Zarek grimly forced the knowledge into my mind.

A kaleidoscope of images and data slammed into my brain. Just when I thought my head would explode into a million pieces, everything abruptly clicked into place. Holy cow! I knew how to fieldstrip a laser cannon, and I could even pilot a warbird. How cool was that?

Zarek’s stern voice broke my glee.
“Focus on the task at hand.”

“Yes, sir.”
My fingers danced across the control panel, and the engines sputtered to life.

“The skills I have implanted are necessary to ensure your survival.”

“Why do I have the feeling you’re not telling me everything?”

“Launch the ship. Now.”
Zarek’s command was edged with impatience.

I quickly touched the targeting screen. A laser bolt flashed out, destroying the landing bay doors on Mog’s ship. Time to see if this rust bucket could fly. I tapped an emblem on the control panel.

With a tremendous roar, the shuttle catapulted out of the landing bay, slamming me back against the seat. “Yee-haw!”

An endless fall of stars filled the dusty view screen. I had always wanted to go into space, just not with a couple of really cranky warlords.

“Keep up this line of thought, and you will see how cranky I can get.”

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end at the menace in Zarek’s voice.
“It won’t happen again, sir.”

“Good. Input these coordinates into the navigation computer. Thirteen point twenty-five mark thirty-five.”

I did as instructed.

“Baylon is a frontier planet with only one spaceport. The inhabitants are a warlike race, and they take offense easily.”

Huh, kinda like the Colettis. I winced when he zapped me again.

“When Jaylan wakes, you will complete the mating bond.”

“No. I won’t.”

“If you wish Hank Benson to live, you will do as I command.”

I shot to my feet.
“You captured Pops?”

“Wulf took him into custody.”

“If you hurt him, I will kill you.”
Agony exploded in my head, dropping me to my knees.

“Do not think because you are kin, I will tolerate your threats.”
Zarek’s warning held a note of chilling malevolence.

My breath coming in jagged jerks, I struggled to control the pain.
“Please…don’t hurt…my father.”

“Obey me, and he lives.”

“Yes, sir. Mate. With Jaylan.”
The relentless pressure vanished, and I sagged in relief.

“It’s for your own safety,”
Zarek added in an almost grandfatherly tone.

“It is?”

“Every unmated warlord would hunt you. Your healing abilities are very rare and highly sought after.”

“Gotcha.”

“Do not disappoint me.”

“No, sir, wouldn’t think of it.”
I let out a breath of relief when his terrifying presence vanished from my head. I never, ever wanted to do that again.

Chapter Five

I studied Jaylan’s powerful body. All those lovely muscles were a definite turn-on. His movie-star good looks didn’t hurt either. Was my attraction to him merely psychic voodoo? Maybe. I wouldn’t have any problems sleeping with him if he was human, but—and it was a very
big
but—my friend Darcie told me Coletti warriors didn’t have balls, and their penises were snakelike.

The crazy girl got drunk and had sex with a warrior on a dare. Darcie claimed she had twenty orgasms. Twenty in one night? I mean, c’mon, let’s get real here. She wouldn’t have been able to walk for like a week.

A shudder shook me. The idea of doing it with a snake kind of weirded me out. What if it was slimy or covered in scales? Darcie didn’t have any complaints, but she had been drunk, and the warrior could have used mind control on her.

I blew out a long breath. Who was I kidding? It didn’t matter if it was slimy or not. I had no choice. If I didn’t complete the mating bond with Jaylan, Pops died.

Maybe if I got a look at it beforehand, I wouldn’t totally freak. Yeah, right. Who was I kidding? I hated snakes.

I knelt beside Jaylan and gave him a good shake. “You awake?” When he didn’t respond, I peeled back an eyelid. “Honey bunny? You in there?” Nope. Dead to the world.

My hands were shaking so badly I had a hard time releasing his weapons belt and the seal on his battle suit.

Jaylan twitched.