Page 1 of Treasured By the Hunter

Chapter 1: Zoey

“Oh crap!” Riley exclaimed as she loaded a bin into the back of our electric SUV. “I left my knife back in the house.”

“Where?” I asked, turning back toward the townhome I’d just vacated. “I’ll grab it.”

“The living room, I think. Maybe upstairs in the master bedroom.”

“Gotcha.”

“Make it quick,” Diego said. “I think I see our first scorpion asshole of the day.”

I looked up, and sure enough, unmistakable scorpion-like shapes marred the perfection of a clear, blue sky. They always came out early on sunny, cloudless days.

The giant alien bugs weren’t really flying scorpions, though; they just reminded us of them, especially the flexible articulated tails that arched over their bodies. Except instead of a stinger, they had long spikes meant for impaling their foes.

Ugh! I hated them. I hated every single one of these wretched creatures. I’d even take dealing with soaring rent prices and ridiculous grocery bills again if it meant I’d never have to see them.

Who would’ve thought that the world as we knew it would be destroyed by alien bugs from outer space? But here we were, six years since the shit hit the proverbial fan.

I ran through the foyer, passed the ransacked kitchen, and went into the living room, where we’d packed up everything we’d thought would be valuable for trade. My eyes scanned for Riley’s knife. Nothing. I ran up the stairs to check the master bedroom.

Bingo! I grabbed the pink duct tape-wrapped hilt and tucked it safely into my pack, then started down the stairs again, only to find myself running headlong into the big purple chest of a Xarc’n warrior.

What the— He wasn’t there just a moment before.

I’d seen these “hunters” from afar but never this close. He was even bigger than I’d thought. Like many of the Xarc’n warriors I’d seen since society collapsed, he wore nothing but a loincloth and a harness that held his weapons. They did nothing to hide his giant bulging muscles. And this guy hadallthe muscles. Even his muscles had muscles.

One thing made this warrior visually different from the others: the lighter patches of purple on him. There was a large patch across one side of his face and another over the same shoulder, reminding me of a calico cat. I hadn’t known they came in patterns. Most of the ones I’d seen had been solid purple or mauve.

The hilts of two swords stuck up from behind his massive shoulders, but he wouldn’t need those weapons to attack me. His hands were the size of Christmas hams and looked like they could pulverize stone. His entire body was a walking arsenal, from the massive ram-like horns sprouting from his temples to the giant claws on his feet.

I froze, not knowing what to do. The frigid winter air blew in from the back door, and I realized he’d come in through there; he probably landed his shuttle in the backyard. And all while my foraging partners were just outside. If this deadly alien warrior decided to steal me away now, I’d be locked up in his shuttle long before Riley and Diego could get to me.

He patted his chest and growled, his golden eyes meeting mine.

I’d heard that these aliens wore translators on their bodies. But no translations came, and he frowned, looking down at his belt, which only drew my eyes to his loincloth and how little it covered.

When the Xarc’n warriors had shown up shortly after the bugs did, claiming they were here to help destroy the deadly invertebrates, the world had split into two camps—those who believed them and wanted to work with them, and those who thought they were lying and were using the bugs to conquer our world.

Most of Earth’s governments, and therefore, militaries, had been firmly in the latter group. The nomadic survivor group I’d been living with for the past few years had been neutral on the subject. Unlike some other nomads, we didn’t believe the Xarc’n hunters were the enemies—how could we when we’d watched them put their lives in danger day after day to fight the bugs?—but we didn’t work with them either.

While I didn’t believe that these aliens were here to conquer Earth with their supposed buggy partners, I also didn’t fully trust them. Especially since one of them had just recently crashed his shuttle into one of Sanctuary’s buildings and made off with one of the women.

I doubted he would hurt me; these hunters had a soft spot for human women, but I didn’t want to chance it. Just as I reached behind me for my rifle, Diego’s voice called out from outside.

“We gotta go, Zoey! We’ve got bugs.”

The Xarc’n warrior frowned, then stepped to the side, making a gesture as if letting me through.

Well, okay then.

I girded my loins and made a run for it, dashing through the tight space between him and the wall and hoping it wasn’t a trick. It wasn’t. I made it through, but not without brushing up against him so close I could smell him.

I didn’t know what I was expecting; maybe an alien locker room. But no. He reminded me of walking over freshly fallen autumn leaves.

But I didn’t stay to analyze his scent, just in case he changed his mind. I stepped outside and ran to the SUV.

“There you are.” Riley looked relieved. “Get my knife?”

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