Page 15 of Gravel and Grit

Holding her breath, she strained her ears, trying to understand the shouted orders of the security men pursuing them. As if they were trying to help her in the worst way possible, she heard with almost perfect clarity the order that sounded as if it came over a radio.

“Capture them—the traitor dead or alive, but I want that specimen andthe device intact!”

Mira immediately recognized General Harrison’s voice, but it took a moment for the words to sink in.

Traitor? They can’t possibly think…

Yes, they’d tried to shoot through her, but that was vastly different to dubbing her an outright traitor and actively trying to kill her. Was it because she hadn’t tried to fight the alien off when he’d grabbed her? They opened fire! What was she supposed to do? Kindly tell himno, thank you, I’m okaywith being riddled with bullets. Just leave me here.Besides, it was her first time seeing an alien. She thought being a little stunned and slow to react was understandable. Apparently not.

“Ucking hoomuns,” she heard her captor growl out, but didn’t understand the anger coloring his words.

He had to know they’d want to either capture or kill him at this point, considering the first meeting went as it had. They obviously weren’t going to invite him to sit down to a civilized get together.

When the gunfire started up again, it was short-lived but almost deafening. She realized they were no longer aiming at the alien’s back. They were now aiming at his stone wings, behind which she was hidden. Every time he rounded a corner, obvious by the world tilting, a volley of bullets rained down on one side of her pouch or the other.

Confusion pushed aside some of her fear. Even if they managed to chip away at the rock enough to make a hole or get to any tissue that might be underneath, a wound to his wings wouldn’t be enough to kill him unless his physiology was vastly different than it appeared. It might be enough of an injury to slow him down, but she honestly didn’t think it would be anywhere close to enough to stop him. The thought made her nauseous, but surely aiming at his legs would have a better chance at disabling him while not risking immediate death. So why were they shooting at his wings?

The answer was both obvious and horrifying. She just didn’t particularly want to acknowledge it.

They’re aiming at me.

Panic burned through her like acid, sending her into a frenzy.

“No! I’m not a traitor! Stop shooting!” she screamed, pounding on the stone so hard her knuckles split.

She could feel the warmth of her own blood painting the rock and splattering back against her face and neck, but she didn’t stop. Even when the alien shouted for her to cease and squeezed her middle so hard she couldn’t breathe, she didn’t stop.

She regretted everything—her ambition, not telling them about the device’s sudden activity, thinking she could keep everything under wraps until she was ready to present her findings and rub her success in Calvin’s face. How stupid could she have been to think it would all go her way? She should’ve known better. Life had never given her anything without making her pay for it one way or another.

That was her last thought before the alien jerked to an abrupt stop and sent her head whipping to the side. Pain was a brief flare before she slumped against his chest as blackness descended over her.

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ZAEK

Zaek was no longer feeling any amusement. He could not recall a mission he’d botched so spectacularly in all his years as this one…

except the one that landed him here. Not only had he completely failed to remain undetected, but by saving the female from certain death at their hands he’d, somehow, convinced the soldiers that she was his ally and, therefore, a traitor.

Having heard the command that came over their radios, he knew what they were trying to do when they ceased firing upon his back and legs, and instead took aim at his wings where the female was sheltered.

The rage that washed over him at that realization very nearly overpowered his good intentions. It took every shred of willpower not to turn around and rend them limb from limb until their blood decorated the walls of their underground maze.

Dishonorable, barbaric, uncivilized Earthian males! How fucking darethey try to shoot my mat-His eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat at what he’d almost thought.

Mat… elote! That is obviously what I was going to say. Not that shesmells anything like fish stew…

She smells like sugar, which is the best damn scent on this world or anyother. Still, delectable scent and confused gland or not, she cannot be mymate.

Sliding around another corner, he braced for another short round of bullets. The humans didn’t disappoint. They opened fire as soon as they had a clear shot of his wings. If he didn’t get the fuck out of here, and soon, they’d chip away at his stone enough to get to her. Hell, they were close to succeeding already. His stone was cracking. Zaek thickened it, but the drain on his energy was significant enough to make him stumble for a step before he caught himself. Mate or not, if they hit her he’d kill them, Prime Directive be damned.

Holding the tranq gun between his teeth to free his only available hand, he yanked a flash bomb out of the holster strapped to his thigh, pulled the pin, then threw it back at the soldiers. Bracing, he squinted his eyes and prepared to have his sensitive ears abused. They shouted a warning but there were no doorways along this stretch of hallway so they couldn’t avoid the blast of light and sound.

Zaek had understood when they’d been willing to shoot through her to get to him in the lab. It pissed him off and he wasn’t willing to allow it to happen, but he understood. He was a big, scary monster, and he’d been on this planet long enough to be intimately acquainted with humans’ propensity to use their weapons first and ask queries second. They had no way of knowing he had no desire or intention to hurt them, would in fact go to great lengths to avoid such a scenario.

But intentionally aiming for her was going too far.

He knew the second she realized what was happening because she went wild against his chest, beating on his wings and screaming at them to stop, that she wasn’t a traitor. He felt his chest tighten at the terror in her voice before a snarl curled his lips. The temptation to turn around and make them feel the fear they were inflicting on her was so intense his steps slowed.

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