Page 72 of Bred by the Alien Prince

Making it to the landing pad, Cormac was sitting on a crate nursing his wounded head.

"Damn. That bitch." He groaned. "Now I'm gonna have a bitch of a headache."

"At least you're alive."

"Yeah, but... fuck, she took the ship!"

"Don't worry, Lorvian and Connor are getting it back."

He scoffed. "Yeah, what good is an AI going to do? There had to have been twenty or thirty of them."

"Yeah, going up against a commander who kicked their asses before and a super-intelligent AI with inhuman reflexes."

"Yeah, that can't kill them." He said, not sounding all that convinced.

Some human guards stood not too far from the landing pad. The only thing keeping them from coming at me was their fear of the soldiers who blocked the way. I didn't see Fran or Derek anywhere, and for now, I saw it as a good sign.

The ship approached fast to the landing pad.

"I see the ship!"

"Please clear the landing pad." Connor came back on the comms, and we moved away as fast as possible.

"Connor..."

"Lorvian is safe."

"And Tavi?" I asked, not at all worried about her; I just wanted to know if they got her or not.

"Alive."

I wasn't sure if that was a good idea.

Lorvian gripped Tavi and tossed her at his soldiers once they landed and the doors opened. He was sweaty, but other than that, he looked unharmed.

"You should work harder on your security; I almost got away," Tavi smirked as she cooed.

"Shut up!" One soldier ordered.

"I want her in chains!" Lorvian demanded.

"Yes, sir."

He then pointed at the men and women who were carted off the ship. "And line up those Travol soldiers in the courtyard so everyone, both human and Travol, can see."

"Yes, sir."

The hairs on my neck stood up as the ones who aided Tavi were lined up along the courtyard—around seventeen in total. The others were carried off and were either unconscious or worse. The Travols were getting rowdy as they questioned the motivation behind his actions. I stood near Cormac, who sat away from the spectacle. I didn't want to be near Lorvian when he was like this, and I didn't think I could say or do anything to stop him.

"What's going to happen?" I asked Cormac, hoping to hear something other than what I feared.

"Looks obvious to me. Either they give them a public scolding, or we're about to witness an execution."

"Damn." Yep, it was just as I feared.

Lorvian paced in front of the kneeling soldiers. Fran, the woman across the way, stared daggers at me, and I did everything I could to avoid her gaze. Derek was beside her, too, but he kept his eyes on the fallen soldiers and Lorvian as he walked by.

"I need to let you all know and understand where you are and who you are dealing with." Lorvian began his small speech once the crowd fell into a hush. "You are inmydomain. Whether you came here unwillingly or in ignorance, you had better accept that you are on my property. Now, I come as a friend, but I can also become your worst nightmare. If you want to leave, then leave. I won't hold anyone but your Travol leader hostage. But I will not allow you to take my willingness to speak to you as a sign of weakness. As for you humans, never make the mistake of siding with the losing side again."

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