Page 41 of Guardian's Heart

I nearly shouted,and then what, but once again, my willpower surprised me. "Fine, let's assume that works. Then we will be back on the same planet whose inhabitants wanted to sell us. Not to mention those God-awful creatures that chased us here."

"She's got a point," Panuta agreed.

Zaarek entered through the open doors, making me wonder if he had lingered in the hall outside, listening to our conversation. His face was set in an unreadable mask as he moved past us to the beverage dispenser.

His footsteps were the only sounds as the group, including me, sat silent and frozen, watching him.

He didn't even glance in our direction as he retrieved his beverage and turned to leave the mess hall. That was my chance.

"Zaarek, hold up." I jumped off my chair but forgot that my feet were still tangled and faceplanted on the ground.

A silvery hand appeared in front of my vision, and I grabbed it as he pulled me to my feet.

ZAAREK

I had heard enough.Did these humans really think I wouldn't spy on them? That I would just put my trust in them as my passengers? Their little ploy of wanting to escape was laughable at best. What hurt, though, was overhearing Nova pointing out the flaws in their plan. I wanted to believe that she wasn't involved. That she wouldn't partake in this mutiny, but my ire grew with every question she raised. It wouldn't have been the first time that she tried to escape me.

I wanted to believe that we had gained a certain rapport with each other, but obviously, I had been mistaken. That angered me.

I went into the breakroom with the intent to stop their little conspiracy, but seeing Nova there, feeling her closeness, only brought my irritation to the boiling point, and I decided it would be better to remove myself. The humans had no idea that I was on to them, and I wanted to keep it that way. Those puny creatures would not get the better of me. The entire idea was laughable.

When Nova cried my name and "Hold up," I stopped and turned right in time to watch her hit the ground. I was still too angry to offer more than my hand, but the moment our flesh made contact, all anger left me, instead only leaving a deep desire to be alone with her. The need to claim her again, to remind her of that mysterious bond that enveloped us every time we were near each other.

"He's got the same tattoos as her," a female cried out, standing up from her seat and pointing at Nova and me.

"What the hell?" A burly male got up, too.

"I knew it," a darker female stated with a self-satisfied grim expression on her face. "I told you not to involve her."

"It's now or never," the burly male yelled, giving me just enough time to pull Nova to her feet and behind me before all three males rushed me.

The burly male was in the lead, coming straight at me like an enraged Moggadesh with his arms swinging. I didn't wish to harm or kill them; my mission was to rescue them, but I wasn't going to let them harm Nova or me either.

I ducked under his swinging arms, ignoring the whoosh of air above my head. I pivoted to the side and allowed his momentum to carry him forward. A quick kick into his back propelled him head-first through the open entrance into the hallway.

In the meantime, the other two reached me. My fist connected with one of their chins, and he hit the ground. Nova, my brave little human—how could I have ever doubted her?—kicked at one of the male's knees hard enough to make it pop.

A plate flew by my head. The dark-haired female by the table was throwing plates at me like missiles. Worried one might hit Nova, I caught the second in midair, using it to bang it over the head of a blonde male.

The burly male had recovered and came roaring back from the hallway, going straight for Nova. I pushed her to the sideand took the brunt of the attack. He was stronger than I had anticipated and off-balanced me long enough for one of the other males to land a blow against my back. That actually hurt because it hit one of the wounds the giant Mmuhr'Rhong had left. I kicked at one of the three standing males, bringing him down, while Nova tackled the female who was still throwing the oval, metallic dishes at us.

I caught a fist coming for me in midair, squeezing it between my fingers until the male yelled in pain. Knuckles cracked, and fingers broke. Something hit me in the back of the head. Letting go of the male with the broken fingers, I turned and caught the metallic plate coming for me again. I wrenched it out of the male's hand and hit him sideways in the head with it.

Now, it was only the burly male and me, while across the room, Nova was still grappling with the dark-haired female on the ground.

The burly male moved cautiously on his heels, watching me with his hands clenched into fists. He swung out, but I moved my head out of the way. His other fist landed on my side, robbing me momentarily of my breath. Just then, more plates hit me in my back, reopening the claw wounds. I didn't allow the pain to distract me or the objects another female was slinging at me. I had to take out the burly male first. Done playing games, I grabbed him by the waist, ignoring his fists, hitting my head, and slammed him into the wall so hard that he passed out the moment the back of his head made contact with the wall.

The female who had been slinging dishes at me squealed and jumped on the table, screaming, "Don't touch me."

Nova was on top of the dark-haired female who was pulling at her hair while she had her thumbs pressed in the other female's closed eyes. I was impressed. Nova might not have known how to fight, but she put whatever she had into it, using every dirty trick in the book.

"Enough," I yelled over the screeching females. "Stop."

Nova's hand retreated from the other female's eyes when she let go of Nova's hair. For the second time in the span of a few moments, I pulled Nova to her feet. Her eyes were wild as she looked around, ready to tackle any other threats.

Remembering who was bunking with whom, I grabbed the burly male off the ground first and pointed at the dark-haired female. "Move."

"Don't hurt him," she pleaded, following, wringing her hands.

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