Venomous: Erotic Science Fiction Romance (Alien Warrior Book 1) (26 page)

The corridor was empty.

Scooting around, complicated when a space is only four feet wide, I slid out toes first.

An errant thought halted my movement, and I dangled mid air, half in and half out.

How will I get back into the vent when it’s so damn high
?

It was the only secure hiding place I had, and by leaving it, I’d be adrift with nowhere to run to if discovered.

Indecision ate at me, the lip of the opening cutting into my stomach hurting.

Just fucking do it.

Decision made, heart pounding, I eased down until my arms were fully extended.

My fingertips gripped the very edge then I took the drop to the floor with enough grace to boost my confidence.

I spun to put my back to the wall.

The corridor extended out in a curve in both directions.

Knowing what lay to my right, I wanted to go left, but the need to know if Fiercely survived was overwhelming.

The escape pods were in that direction too.

There would be food rations, and water on one of them for sure.

Pressed to the wall, I shuffled along until I reached a tight bend.

Peeking around the corner, I stifled a gasp.

Vomit surged into my throat, and I clasped a hand over my mouth to smother the sound of my retching.

Bodies littered the blood-drenched deck.

Rä warriors had been hacked into pieces then left to rot beside their enemies.

Was Fiercely among the slain?

Venomous.

Before I realised my feet moved, I rounded the corner and blindly staggered into the intersection.

Panic had me scanning the mutilated bodies of the dead in a detached haze.

They stank.

My toes squished together in a thick, black substance spilling from the disembowelled body of a Dei San, and I fought a hysterical scream.

Some of the Rä faces were so damaged, I couldn’t recognize the mashes of bone and brain matter as facial features.

None of them looked big enough to be Venomous, nor was their colour right.

There were moments his scales appeared molten gold, and were otherwise deep olive mottled with bronze and amber.

They were unforgettable.

Calming, I again scanned the bodies, unable to spot Fiercely’s distinct emerald shade.

Nāga’s sedate, dark blue was absent too.

Relief stole through my body, the force of it making me woozy.

Could they be alive?

Hurt pierced the horror of my environment.

If they had survived, why hadn’t they come for me?

Captives?

The Dei San would be terrible considering the carnage they left behind.

Is it down to me to save them?

Slapping the heel of my palm to my forehead, I leaned against the wall as my knees knocked.

What if they were no longer on the Trekker?

How could I do anything worthwhile to help them?

A more terrifying thought occurred.

What if I was
alone
on the ship?

What if as I stood there woolgathering, the vessel flew into a blazing sun, or an asteroid belt because the pilot was gone?

After taking a moment to frighten myself silly, imagining the worst, I squared my shoulders.

I had two options; find the escape pods or save the Rä.

Only one of the choices was acceptable to me.

If there was a chance Venomous and Fiercely were alive, I would find them and set them free.

They’d wrest back control of the ship, and only then would I be safe to completely fall apart.

Until then suck it up, girl.

I had to keep focused or I’d go back to rocking in a corner and tearing my hair out.

A thorough search of the ship was the only way forward.

Staying where I was any longer increased the risk I’d get caught.

The Trekker was used in planetary defence, so there had to be a place to detain prisoners, holding cells of some kind like ... the one I’d been in.

Shamefully, I considered pilfering clothes from the dead to cover my nakedness.

I decided against it out of respect.

Determined, I retraced Fiercely’s steps.

It took a while to navigate the corridors he had raced through during the attack because they all looked the same.

I’d worried about the walking-through-the-walls issue, but the entire ship seemed more open.

Or maybe I just wasn’t being such a sissy.

Each wobbly step I took, I expected to round a bend and confront a hulking Dei San.

Sheer willpower kept my feet moving.

It can’t be much further.

Fiercely ran fast, but he hadn’t been moving long.

I turned a corner then choked.

Jerking back, I slammed against the metallic wall and the world darkened.

Face crumpling, my shoulders shook from the force of my tears, and I slapped the back of my hand to my mouth to muffle a whimper.

Dei San.

It lay sprawled across the corridor next to the threshold of a hazy force field.

Its snores thundered down the corridor.

A bright thought sliced through my terror, and the risk of blacking out from sheer fright vanished.

Didn’t a guard meant something of value to protect?

Something like prisoners.

All I had to do was sneak up to the force field, peek inside, and check if Venomous and Fiercely were imprisoned.

I’d figure out how to pass through the barrier without waking the Dei San if they were inside.

All I needed was courage.

I slinked around the corner, breathing in shallow pulls.

Rather than creep along, knowing I’d lose my nerve long before I got there, I picked up my feet and sprinted on my toes then softly slid to a stop a foot from the sentry’s paws.

I swivelled to stare inside the enclosure.

My heart skipped a beat as I took an unconscious step, hands flying to cover my mouth in case I squealed.

Rä warriors filled the room.

In the middle of the battered gathering was my male, my Venomous One.

Fiercely sat next to him, head bent, deep in discussion.

I swung my arms not wanting to make noise, but couldn’t help a hiss-whispered, “
Babe.
”

V
enomous woke.

He inhaled, lungs expanding with cool air, his chest enclosed in....

His hands came up to smooth over the matte textile of his full body hardsuit.

The resilient material hugged his musculature, yet sensation wasn’t dulled nor movement hindered.

It felt good to be in the garb of a warrior, to be in decent accommodations, and to breathe air not rancid with sweat and death.

The furs at his back were clean and fresh, the mat beneath them thick and comfortable.

My Lumen will finally....

Jerking up, Venomous scanned the quarters.

“Lumen?”

Nothing, he was alone.

His hearts tried to fly from his chest, but he calmed himself.

Thoughts in disarray, he looked down at his empty arms.

He could
feel
her soft, warm weight.

Impatient, Venomous stretched his mind back, memory tapering into blood, screams, and his alien mate’s salty musk as she wept for those they’d lost.

She’d ... died in his arms!

His hearts stuttered then surged on when his instincts forced him to think past the foggy remembrance of her limp body and sightless eyes.

The memory was a falsehood, distorted.

His body knotted in spasms as a bone-deep, numbing current of energy passed through his fibrous tissues.

Gritting his fangs, tendons popping and ligaments stretched tight, irritated, Venomous shook off the lingering malaise.

The effects of the immobiliser would continue to sap his strength for the rest of the rotation, but he would steadily regain his power, and his mind would clear.

A nanosec of separation from his Rä’Na was unacceptable, so not having her to hand was infuriating.

Why was I in stasis?

Unease overcame his composure as he thought of his frightened, little human.

Where is my defenceless life mate? Lumen needs me.

She cannot be without my protection.

Venomous knew he had felt her single heart beating before the darkness claimed him.

She was alive and needing him, he knew it.

Lumen had been sleeping because of....

Fiercely Comes the Night.

“
If he has hurt her...
.”

Growling, Venomous eased across the nest, his limbs weighty.

He gained his feet then stormed from the comfortable quarters without looking back.

He glanced at the far wall to speed read the glyphs on the mounted plaque, gained his bearings then set off for the command deck.

His twin hearts beat too fast, pushing fiery anger through his veins and rousing primal instincts to prepare him for a confrontation with the a’Rä who’d dare meddle in his affairs.

Squaring his shoulders as he heard approaching footfalls, Venomous stiffened, and forced his emotions into a tight ball he hid behind a wall of superiority.

A hologram blinking a proximity warning flickered before him as the Trekker had already logged the change in hierarchy.

His stride faltered, brille fighting to unveil, so great was his shock.

He choked on fear, not for himself, no, never for himself, and felt no worry for the warriors aboard beyond a vague concern because death in battle was a risk a warrior acknowledged with an open heart.

The fear he felt was for her, for his Lumen.

Graphic, the hologram showed the shocking image of a Dei San battlecruiser dropping its stealth shield as it enclosed the Trekker within its pincers.

And so, edgy with panic because he was separated from the one who needed him most, Venomous was alerted to the raider spaceship the moment they launched a pulse blast.

The world shuddered.

He staggered, shoulder crashing into the wall beside the startled Rä’Vek travelling from the opposite direction.

The shrill grinding of tearing metal echoed down the corridor, and a tremor shook the Trekker.

Central lights died leaving nothing but the intermittent blink of the emergency strobe.

Backup generators trundled to life, pushing oxygen through the ventilation system, the artificial atmosphere maintained on its default setting until the ship’s mainframe rebooted after its forced dormancy.

Defensive capabilities were inactive, communications severed.

Offensive weaponry was good for nothing until the ship recovered.

“V-Venomous One?” Voice trembling, the Rä’Vek failed to hide his fear.

Dread thickened the air Venomous dragged into his lungs, yet his voice remained cool. “It is Dei San.”

“O-Orders, Warrior?”

“You are a Scholar?”

“Healer. I am He, Nāga Shadowed by the Bluest Moons. I was coming to check on you to ensure you were not experiencing complications from extended stasis in the immobiliser.”

“Nothing unexpected. Muscle spasms, memory loss.”

They snapped to attention as pounding, thumping sounds echoed down the corridor.

“My Rä’Na,” Nāga whispered. “She is alone.”

Venomous knew how the male felt. “Is your life mate a warrior?”

“No, Sweetly Cries the Beast is a scholar.” The male made a low, pained noise. “She came on this expedition because she did not want to be parted from me for so long. She is not a fighter. She is delicate.”

“We will find her. Remain at my side, and protect my back as I shall yours.” Venomous pushed away from the wall, gaze spearing into the dark abyss at the end of the passageway. “We must go for my Rä’Na as well. She is offworlder. Perhaps you have seen her?”

“I cared for her during your convalesce. She was doing better the last I saw. Fiercely Comes the Night was with your human this last span. He will not abandon her.”

“Fiercely is a great warrior, but his instincts will draw him to me. It is my duty to protect my Rä’Na. I
must
find her. She is not strong like Rä. The invaders will savage her.”

Dei San infiltrated unsuspecting vessels in great swarms, overcoming even the greatest warrior species with their sheer numbers, yet if the Rä greeted them in hand-to-hand combat they may be victorious in beating them back just long enough to deliver the females to safety.

The fight would be brutal, many would die, but the females would suffer unspeakable violations if they did not succeed in holding off the assault long enough to get them to the escape pods.

Venomous thought it was a kindness there were so few females on board then blanched at thoughts of how cruelly his mate would be used if found.

I have to find my Lumen, and get her to an escape pod.

They were programmed to fly to home world, or to the closest Alliance planet.

They were stocked with enough nutrient feed to support life for up to six galactic moontides.

Crouching, Venomous faced the healer without taking his eyes off the corridor.

The rancid stink of Dei San infested his nostrils.

“Where did you take my Rä’Na?” he asked.

“She is in a holding enclosure near the medical bays.”

Hissing, Venomous took off and Nāga followed as he headed towards the bowels of the ship.

Before long they came across a swarm of Dei San at an intersection.

Venomous’ acute senses were bombarded by stimuli.

Vibrations juddered through the soles of his boots into his tensed lower body.

The smell of putrefied body odour flooded his nose working his gag reflex.

Heat battered his scales.

Dying screams and screeching roars reverberated against his sensitive eardrums.

The battle group trying to hold the pirates at bay were outnumbered, but fought bravely.

Scowling, Venomous’ claws sliced the throat of a Dei San that spun to leap at him with a piercing shriek.

Another used a three sided blade to gouge Nāga, who had yelled over the skirmish searching for his female, and drawn its attention.

Venomous grabbed the Dei San by its spiked tail then swung it into the wall, caving its head in.

Shaking out the tremor in his arm, flexing his rigid fingers, he went to ask the male what his Rä’Na, Sweetly Cries the Beast, looked like, but a familiar tantalizing fragrance and taste sent his senses reeling.