Page 19 of Victoria's Discovery

“Oh!I’mcold. Yeah, it got chilly,” she agreed, nodding.

Thegan got her attention by waving at her then gesturing to the spot between him and Thorn.

Victoria hesitated, looking from the spot to each of them. “Uhh… ”

There was no logical reason for her pulse to kick into double time. After all, she hadn’t balked at the hug from Thorn, and the offer of some warmth was obviously just them being friendly and considerate, which she appreciated. A lot. But, sitting between them seemed… ill-advised. Just thinking about being sandwiched between their big, muscular, tattooed, yummy giantness had her feeling giddy and nervous and tingly.

No. She’d already decided she wasn’t going to develop a crush on the aliens, and she was sticking to it.

Before she could respond, a sudden rise of noise outside their cell stole her attention. Victoria frowned and turned to scan the hold, searching for whatever had set off the commotion.

She didn’t see anything until she looked up through the transparent top of the cage and spotted what looked like the knockout hose hanging from the ceiling. It was still a ways off, so she couldn’t see what it was doing exactly, but it looked to be moving from cell to cell. And it was headed their way.

“Oh, shit,” she breathed, tensing.

Blindly swatting at both guys, she pointed to it. “Look! Uh, shit. Rough day!”

She knew the moment they saw it, because they leaped into action.

In the time it took her to suck in a startled breath, they’d picked her up, pinned in the corner farthest from the approaching hose, and were shielding her with their bodies.

Chapter 10

Thorn watched as the metal pipe attached to the hole in the top of the cage next to theirs, absentmindedly scanning the females inside and realizing they were Victoreea’s people, though none with hair and features as remarkable as hers.

Why is she not caged with them? Why put her by herself then lock us in with her?

The first thought to come to mind simultaneously made his stomach cramp and his blood heat.

When would a female animal be locked in with a pack of males? The answer was obvious to him.

To breed.

“What do you think it is?” Thegan asked quietly next to him.

Thorn’s heart skipped a beat, and he darted a startled look at his friend, thinking he’d voiced his thoughts aloud before he saw Thegan staring at the pipe. Blowing out a quiet breath of relief, he answered, “I do not know, but she showed fear so it may prove a threat. Be ready to fight.”

“Always.”

Thorn heard the seriousness in his usually playful friend’s voice and nodded in approval, pushing thoughts of breeding out of his mind to focus on the potential danger at hand.

Just then, the tube dropped something in the neighboring cage, sending the females inside scrambling to get away from it.

He growled, his stomach twisting as he watched them run for the walls, their screams assaulting his ears as they ineffectually banged their fists on the glass. Instinct demanded he do something to protect them, but he could not.

In all honesty, Thorn was not sure he would’ve been able to leave the woman behind him long enough to do so, even if he were able.

The near-instant and swiftly growing fascination he felt for the miniature female was both distracting and disconcerting, and, so far, no amount of trying to reason it away was working. In fact, it seemed to be doing the opposite. The more he looked at her, interacted with her, watched her reactions, searching for a flaw to counter his attraction, the more he found himself captivated.

Looking away from the women, he eyed the pipe as it moved above his cage, tensing further when it attached and spit out four bricks not two strides away from him. Each landed with a muffled thump on the strange sand covering the floor. He waited, gaze bouncing from the pipe to the bricks, but nothing else came out. The pipe moved to the cage behind theirs, and the bricks lay where they landed.

“Stay with her,” he murmured then cautiously moved forward.

He heard Vee call his name anxiously and raised a staying hand as he crouched to inspect the objects. There were four loaves, each about the length of two of his hands from midfinger to wrist and a little over half a handlength wide. They were an unappealing mix of red and yellow swirled together. Sniffing the air above them, he caught the scent of fish, herbs, and something almost sweet.

Relaxing, Thorn glanced over his shoulder and announced, “They give us food.”

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