Page 23 of Fated to the Alien Protector

“Don’t come any closer.” This time, my voice wavers. I tighten my hold on the string and tension fills my arm.

Lewis pounces and I swing the dead rabbits as hard as I can. They collide with a loud thud and I don’t waste any time even as he yells and clutches his head. The soles of my shoes thud against the ground as I run as fast as I can. My grip on my spear tightens and already my arm is fatigued from carrying it. But I don’t dare let loose of it.

Pounding footsteps grow louder behind me until a large body tackles me from behind. Lewis and I hit the ground together. I kick and scream, throwing my elbow back to connect with any body part I can. He grunts and his hold breaks enough for me to push myself out of his grasp. I roll away and jump to my feet at the same time I aim my spear at him.

He stands and chuckles. “The chase is always the fun part, isn’t it?”

“Go fuck yourself.” My chest heaves as I try to catch my breath.

Lewis stalks slowly forward and I jab the spear at him. He leaps back and that creepy grin spreads across his face again. “I love it when they fight back.”

He maneuvers me to move in a circle, and I never take my gaze off him. He hops right and I stab at him, but at the last second, he spins and comes at me from the left. I manage to jerk my arms enough in that direction to throw him off, but the weight of my weapon is too much and it falls from my hands. I scramble to pick it up, but Lewis kicks it away.

“Abby, Abby, Abby.” He shakes his head. “You didn’t really think you were going to win, did you?”

I don’t give him the satisfaction of answering. Nor will I give in without a fight. If he’s going to take what he wants, I don’t plan on lying there quietly. I’m going to inflict as much damage as I can.

Like a deadly dance, for every step forward Lewis takes, I take two back, doing my best to keep out of his reach. He’s merely taunting me, though, and we both know it.

He lunges, and I slip from his grip. Before I can recover though, he’s on me. His arms wrap around my waist and he throws me to the ground. My breath is knocked out of me. He straddles me and pins my hands above my head. I gasp for air, desperate to fill my lungs. Lewis looms over me, and I buck my hips to try and throw him off, but it’s no use.

His creepy laugh echoes in my ears. I finally manage to pull in enough oxygen and then let it loose in a primal scream. Birds scatter from the trees and escape into the air with frantic flaps of their wings.

“I tried to make this easy on you, Abby. I was willing to be nice, but you left me no choice,” he says. “The only person you have to blame is yourself. I would have taken good care of you.”

“You can go to hell.”

Lewis’ whole face shifts and morphs into rage. “I’m going to enjoy breaking you.”

His grip tightens painfully around my wrists and with a free hand, he grabs the neckline of my shirt and yanks. I cry out. There’s a tearing sound as stitches snap and he pulls again, even harder this time, and the seams break apart, exposing my front.

A guttural roar fills the air and a flash of movement appears out of the corner of my eye. In a blink, Lewis’ weight is lifted off me as a massive shadow passes over. I grab the remnants of my destroyed shirt and scramble backward on my butt, holding it against my chest.

I turn toward where two shapes battle. Shock fills me at the Tavikhi warrior who is beating the shit out of Lewis. Recognition finally hits. It’s Rojtar. He’s like a rabid beast, throwing punch after punch. Blood covers his hands, and the face of the man lying on the ground beneath him is already a pulpy mess. From the look on the Tavikhi’s face, I actually think he might kill him.

“Rojtar, stop.” I speed crawl over to the two men. “You have to stop.”

There’s no fight left in Lewis, but Rojtar keeps hitting him. As much as I hate Lewis, I don’t want him to die. At least not by Rojtar’s hand. Not unaware of the potential danger, I grab the Tavikhi’s arm.

“Rojtar,” I yell as loud as I can. “Stop, please. It’s over.”

As though I hold some magical power, he freezes. My gaze lands on where my fingers wrap partway around his bicep and the light purple lines that crawl out from beneath them and travel in both directions toward his shoulder and wrist. His chest heaves, and in slow motion, he turns his head and glances down at where I’m still touching him. I stare at his face and watch as the blown black vertical pupils shrink and focus on the same swirling lines.

Rojtar finally lifts his gaze to mine.

“Keeshla,” he whispers.

Chapter 12

Rojtar

Darkness like none other entered my vision the moment I spotted that unworthy male on top of Abby. My only thought had been to kill. But new sensations are rushing through me. Disbelief. Awe. Hope.Love.

“Keeshla,” I repeat the word, still not certain I am not being deceived by the sight of the mating marks that travel the length of my arm and move across my chest.

My skin tingles and the place where Abby still has not released her hold on my arm burns with heat that sends warmth through me and settles within my soul light that shines so bright to be nearly blinding. I am shocked to find her seemingly unaffected, as though she is unable to see it as well.

The dishonorable male lying beaten on the ground moans and breaks whatever spell that holds Abby and me bound. I glance down at him and the bloody mess. Not even the smallest amount of regret fills me. If my mate had not stopped me, he would be dead. It is no less than he deserves for his assault on mykeeshla. The memory of her stripped of her chest covering makes the rage inside me flare to life, but I tamp it down. Only because Abby asked it of me.

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