Hawk's Slave (7 page)

"Get them ready," Hawk said. "We're not going to lose another cargo."

It was his duty to protect his crew’s interests. He’d failed them on Zaron. The Dark King’s interference had cost them thousands of credits and it had taken months to rebuild their cargo. Hawk had already allowed his feelings for one female to dictate his actions. He couldn’t do it again.

“Bring the ship around. I want our cannons ready to fire,” Hawk said.

Fallon barked orders, then hesitated. “What should we do about the Phantom woman?”

Hawk’s fists clenched. “Get her ready too,” he said, hoping this wasn’t a colossal mistake.

“You heard the captain,” Fallon shouted. “Move it.”

Hawk took his seat and watched the cargo ship position itself to fire again.

“Fire!” he shouted before it could get off another blast.

* * * * *

It sounded like the world was coming to an end as the ship was hit with another laser-cannon blast. For a moment, Opal wondered if Hades had come to rescue her. The thought was dashed as quickly as it arose.

The Dark King never changed his mind once he made a decision, which meant someone else was trying to kill Hawk and his crew. She just hoped they didn’t kill her in the process.

What if they weren’t after the crew? What if it was the cargo they wanted? They had no way of knowing that Hawk had sold a portion of his slaves on Farn.

The door to the pleasure chamber opened silently and bright light flooded in. A man Opal didn’t recognize stood in the doorway.

“Where’s Hawk?” she asked.

He ignored her question and hit the button to his right. The wall tipped forward. Once Opal was upright, he pressed a second button and the chains loosened. She dropped to the floor.

"Get on your feet," he said.

Opal did as he requested since he had to be under direct orders from Hawk. She stared at the short-haired, scaly alien and waited to see what he was going to do.

"Turn around," the man said. "Face the wall."

Opal slowly turned away from him and felt fresh shackles bite into her tender wrists. He attached a mag-chain to the cuffs and led her out of the room where she joined several other females who’d already been herded into the middle of the cargo hold.

Now that she’d slept with Hawk did he plan to sell her? It certainly looked like it, though she was surprised they’d reached another planet so soon. Opal scanned their faces, then cautiously looked around. Hawk was nowhere to be found.

Maybe he couldn’t face her. The thought made her chest ache. She never took him for a coward, but Opal couldn’t ignore how quickly he’d vanished after they’d had sex. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t like she cared about the dark beast.

Opal watched the men corral the last of the women. Something about the look in their eyes gave her pause. It wasn’t just that their eyes were an odd shade of red that seemed to glow from an internal heat source. It was the look in their eyes that concerned her. The men looked...
hungry
. One even appeared to be drooling.

She took a closer look at them all. Opal didn't recognize
any
of them, and she'd had Hawk's crew under surveillance back on Zaron. Surely one of them should look familiar. But if they weren't Hawk's crew, then who were they and how did they get on the ship without his knowledge?

The longer she watched them, the more they reminded her of the Slaver who’d made the outlandish offer for her. Their hair was shorter and a slightly different shade of blue. They didn’t have his bulk, but their reptilian features were similar. Opal glanced around. She didn’t see the big alien, but that didn’t mean anything.

Had he and Hawk struck a deal after all? Let Hawk have sex with her first, then the blue-haired Slaver could have her? Was that why Hawk wasn't here to supervise the transfer?

Anger rose inside her, shutting out the pain. No one used her. No one!

More blasts struck the ship, tipping the craft on its side. Women screamed. A few fell across the floor, hitting the bulkhead. Opal used the distraction to make her escape.

Fur rippled over her arms and face as the change took her. Since these manacles weren’t bewitched, they fell to the floor. Opal let out a loud snarl. Gone was the woman. In her place stood a sleek black cat.

Wait until she got her claws into Hawk. He’d think twice about messing with this feline.

Opal ran for the only cover available, a stack of containers secured at the head of the cargo hold. The men scrambled to contain the women. Someone shouted a warning as Opal leapt onto the containers. The warning came again, then a laser blast hit the container beneath her feet, but she was already moving onto the next.

Something must’ve gone wrong with the deal. There was no reason she knew of for anyone to attack the ship. Why risk war over a slave deal? It didn’t make sense. She scanned her surroundings quickly.

There were at least fifteen men in the compartment. Opal was pretty sure she could take out half before one landed a lucky shot. Dying in battle didn't matter to her, as long as she was out of that chamber and away from Hawk.

As plans went, it wasn’t perfect, but it would do.

Opal saw one man’s face distort, then begin to morph. His mouth and nose extended until he had a long snout. Sharp teeth replaced dull ones and the scales on his body thickened, until he had a thick plate protecting his organs. His arms twisted and extended, contorting sickeningly until they were webbed.

A moment later, he flapped his new limbs and rose from the floor. When he was twenty feet in the air, he threw his head back and fire shot out of his mouth, spraying the roof of the cargo deck.

The fur covering Opal’s body bristled as she turned to face the new threat. As far as she could see, there didn’t seem to be a weakness in his new form. Opal had never faced anything like him. What was he? How could she fight a fire-breathing shifter?

His reptilian head swiveled again. He inhaled, then expelled a fireball. This time the flames came straight for her. Opal did the only thing she could. She leapt off the containers and ran.

* * * * *

"What in the name of the Goddess was that?" Hawk shouted, glancing at the floor as it shook beneath his feet.

Fallon stared at the monitor. "The sensors have detected a heat signature on the cargo deck level.” He swiped his hand to bring up a different view.

"What kind of heat signature? Did one of the blasts punch through the cargo bay?" Hawk asked. He imagined all the oxygen being sucked out of the cargo deck. Imagined Opal gasping for breath. Fear enveloped him, along with another emotion he refused to address. Opal’s wasn’t the only life at stake. “Is the ship on fire?”

“Unknown,” Fallon said. “But whatever it is, it’s hot enough to send the readings off the chart.”

“What about atmosphere?” Hawk asked. If there was no oxygen, the fire would put itself out.

“Holding for now,” Fallon said. “But it won’t last if we don’t put out that fire.”

A shiver tracked its way down Hawk's spine, causing his cat to stir. Like all beasts, he wasn’t fond of fire. He dealt with it when he had to and avoided it when he could. He looked at the readings Fallon was studying.

If the source of the blaze hadn’t come from a blast, then it had to have come from within. Which meant that someone was on his ship. Someone was either trying to take his cargo or sabotage his ship. Neither option boded well for his Little Cat.

“We have company. Scan for all transport frequencies. If you find one, shut it down. No one gets off this ship,” Hawk said. "Fallon, take the helm! The rest of you, suit up for battle. It’s time we welcome our uninvited guests aboard.”

Despite being cyber enhanced, the men scrambled into lightweight armor and headed toward the transport cylinder. Hawk’s claws lengthened as he followed close behind. No one stole from him without a fight.

* * * * *

She was being hunted. Opal jumped, landing on the alien closest to her. She took the man to the ground, raking him with her claws as she tore out his throat. She didn’t need another one shape-shifting on her. One fire-breathing creature was enough.

More shots were fired, but once again Opal was already on the move. She hadn't earned her position as the Dark King's right hand because she’d slept with him. She'd earned it through skill, ferociousness, and blood.

She ran across the tops of the crates in her cat form, drawing fire from several directions. Opal easily leapt from container to container, picking up speed so she could slash another man. She disemboweled him without breaking stride.

Clangs and bangs from the shots echoed along with the women's terrified screams. They pulled at their restraints while the men struggled to load them into a light ring transport. There was a bright flash and the first group of women disappeared.

"Kill her!" One of the men shouted.

A shot seared her skull, taking a layer of fur and skin off as it grazed her head. Opal hissed and jumped to a lower box. Her black form melted into the shadows.

“No! Captain wants her alive!” someone else bellowed.

Opal heard a scuffle, but she didn’t look to see who was fighting. She kept still. There was no way she’d let these fire-breathers take her alive. For all she knew, they ate creatures like her.

* * * * *

The door to the transport cylinder opened and the first thing Hawk smelled was blood. "Kill them, but save as many women as you can. Reaper, take out the one breathing fire.”

“Aye, Captain,” Reaper said, then faded before Hawk’s eyes.

Reaper moved like a wraith, appearing and disappearing at various points as he made his way toward the drac-shifter. One second the shifter was spewing fire, the next his head rolled off his shoulders and he dropped to the ground with a squishy thump.

Lex had one of the men by the throat. Greenish yellow blood dripped down his chin as he drained the invader dry. The man’s struggles ceased. Lex wiped his mouth and loosened his grip. The man slid to the floor.

“Taste good?” Hawk asked, grimacing.

Lex grinned, flashing bloody fangs. “Nah, but food is food.” He laughed, then jumped back into the fray.

Mars rounded up the terrified women, trying to gather them into one of the open cells. Their eyes were wide with fright and they kept weeping and screaming. After a few seconds of listening to Mars’ calm voice, the women seemed to relax a little and allowed him to usher them inside.

Shadow sent magic flowing out of his fingertips. It circled the invader closest to him and slowly enveloped the man.

The warrior’s muffled screams poured out of the purple mist as the magic devoured him inch by inch. When the smoke cleared all that was left was a pile of polished bones. Shadow picked one up and pocketed it. No one questioned why.

Hawk wrapped a meaty hand around a man’s throat and snapped his neck with little effort. “Find the others!” he shouted. “Do not let them escape.”

Shadow, Lex, and Reaper nodded, then took off after the fleeing thieves. Hawk watched them go. His men could handle the few remaining invaders on their own. He had a cat to locate.

Hawk shifted into his feline form and immediately detected the odor of another cat. Where was she? Had they already taken her? If they had, it had been recent since her scent was so fresh and strong.

He stalked the alien firing into the shadows. No warrior worth his salt wasted ammo. There had to be something hiding in the darkness. Hawk approached the man from behind. As soon as he got within range, he leapt. His big jaw snapped the man's ridged spine.

The man’s dying cries filled his ears, but Hawk ignored him and continued to follow the scent of blood. It was only a few drops here and there, but that didn’t mean that the injury wasn’t bad.

He sniffed the ground, then opened his mouth and inhaled the scent. The coppery aroma definitely came from another cat. Was it Opal or had another cat-shifter come aboard?

The skin near his nape tingled. It was the only warning Hawk got. He turned in time to find a black cat with a jeweled collar hurdling toward him with its claws outstretched.

Hawk rolled the second she hit him. The move sent them both tumbling across the floor away from the battle wrapping up in the main part of the cargo hold.

Opal snarled and took off into the shadows. Hawk followed close behind. He saw her tail swish as she leapt onto more containers. Before she could climb even higher, Hawk hit her in the side, knocking her off balance. She fell back onto the floor.

Like any good cat, Opal landed on her feet. She tried to run, but her paws slipped on the metal floor. Hawk was on her before she made it a single step. If she were hurt, he didn’t want her exacerbating the injury by fighting him. Hawk’s big cat pinned Opal’s feline form to the floor. A second later, his massive jaws clamped onto her neck and he pulled the skin tight.

He’d intended to capture her and nothing more, but having Opal in this position in her cat form brought out instincts that had never surfaced inside Hawk before.

Sensing a female beneath him, his beast wrestled for control and got it. His back legs pressed down on her, flatting Opal’s feline form until the bottom half of her body was compressed.

Opal hissed at him and tried to free herself, but it was too late. Hawk simply pulled the skin on her neck tighter, until her head was craned and her body was open. His beast was careful not to injure her, but it wasn’t about to relinquish its hold. Hawk’s cat held her in that position until he felt her relax beneath him.

Hawk wondered if Opal realized that she’d just submitted to his dominance. He hoped so. It would make things easier once they were in their other forms and could communicate.

Opal’s feline side stayed receptive beneath him, beneath his cat. Hawk wanted to shout in victory, but he couldn’t. The most he could do was roar. The sound was followed by a deep pleasurable growl. The kind of growl a male gave when he knew he was about to claim a female.

In this form, Hawk wouldn’t last long. That was the nature of his beast, but that fact didn’t deter him. Didn’t deter his cat. It wanted her and it wasn’t about to give her up without a fight.