Page 106 of Claimed by an Alien Warrior

Releasing a roar, Rendash jumped out of the gunfire, hitting the cold snow in a roll, and snatched up an object from the ground as he faced the helicopter again — the detached door of the destroyed SUV. The helicopter’s operator turned the aircraft around to grant the gunner a clear line of fire.

Grasping the door by its thin, bent upper frame, Ren spun to build momentum and hurled it at the helicopter.

The door struck at the base of the blades, smashing the machinery. The helicopter pitched wildly to the side. Screaming, the gunner tumbled out, dangling by a strap. Ren bolted clear as the blades bit into the ground. Snow, ice, and frozen dirt sprayed at him with enough force to trigger his shield. The Earth itself shook when the body of the helicopter whipped into the ground in a massive, deafening crash.

Ren didn’t look back; he charged the remaining soldiers in the field, dodging through bursts of projectiles to attack with his blades.

One of the soldiers tugged a cylindrical object from his chest, pulled a small ring from its top, and threw it at Rendash.

Dismissing a vrahsk, Ren extended a hand, catching the cylinder on his palm. He lifted his arm and catapulted the object into the cluster of soldiers. Two of the humans were quick enough to dive onto the ground, throwing their arms over their heads.

The cylinder’s explosion echoed through the night like rolling thunder. Its concussive force hurled a pair of humans through the air, their blood spraying like mist to paint the snow. Despite the ringing in his ears, Ren heard the pained screams of the survivors. He killed them swiftly and picked up two of their long guns.

A fire in the helicopter wreckage cast a flickering orange glow on the bloody snow, deepening the surrounding shadows and highlighting the lifeless corpses scattered nearby.

The sound of roaring engines came from somewhere down the road; more land vehicles were inbound.

Ren shouldered the human weapons, took aim at the men standing at the stationary SUVs, and squeezed the triggers. The weapons flashed as they sprayed projectiles with surprising accuracy. All three men crumpled, the doors of their vehicles offering inadequate cover; one lived long enough to cry out in pain as he hit the ground.

Lights at the edge of Ren’s peripheral vision caught his attention. More black SUVs. Somehow, he knew Stantz was in one of them.

He shifted his gaze to the damaged vehicle that sheltered his mate.

How much time did she have?

They are too close for me to move her safely.

His insides twisted and clenched sickeningly; he wanted to go to her,neededto go to her, but he had to end this first. Had to commit fully to the part of himself he so desperately longed to leave behind. And he had to do so with haste, or he’d lose her forever.

His mate, his love, his everything.

Dismissing his remaining blades, he crouched over the nearest bodies and gathered two of the explosive cylinders. He engaged his cloaking field and sprinted through the snow along the side of the road, toward the oncoming vehicles.

Steeling himself, Rendash veered into the road. His cloaking field fell as he reinforced his shield and strengthened his leg muscles to the point of searing pain, and he slammed into the driver’s side of the lead vehicle, smashing metal and shattering glass. His shield flared as it absorbed the impact with the SUV. The vehicle bounced and stuttered over the road before tipping into the ditch on the far side.

The impact rattled Ren, but he didn’t allow himself a moment’s delay. He spun toward the second SUV as it swerved to avoid the first and emptied both long guns into the windshield. The vehicle lost control and went off the road, crashing into a wooden pole. The pole sagged toward the SUV as electricity crackled and buzzed overhead. The vehicle’s front end was destroyed, wrapped around the base of the pole in a mangled mess of bent metal.

He tossed the firearms aside, bunched his legs, and leapt onto the final vehicle, extending his nails into sharpened claws through his nyros to latch onto the roof. The transport swayed as it sped along the road. Ren’s lower half flailed from side to side.

Dragging himself forward, he hammered his fist into the windshield. Cracks blossomed across the glass. Another blow saw it buckle, opening along the top seam.

He pulled the ring out of one of the cylinders and dropped the explosive through the windshield gap.

Ren jumped off the vehicle, tumbling over a snow bank on the side of the road.

The passenger door swung open and a soldier inside desperately struggled to abandon the SUV. Red lights flared on the back of the vehicle, and its tires screeched as it was brought to a halt. A thumping explosion sounded within, breaking the windows and scattering glass in the road. The soldier on the passenger side was blasted out through the open door, hitting the ground in a heap. Smoke curled up from his shredded back.

He lay unmoving on the road.

The SUV rolled forward slowly, stopping only when it crashed into one of the parked vehicles.

Regaining his feet, Rendash ran to the lead vehicle, which lay on its side in the ditch. A bloodied soldier was attempting to climb out through the broken driver’s window. Ren buried a vrahsk in the human’s throat and tossed the remaining explosive into the open window. The screams from within were cut short by another thumping explosion.

“Nearly back, Zoey,” he whispered as he approached the last vehicle at the damaged pole. Smoke billowed from its destroyed engine.

He tugged open the passenger door. The two humans in the front seats were dead, their bodies riddled with projectile wounds. The rear driver’s side door was open, and a lone human was trudging through the snowy field beyond.

Ren pulled a small gun from the dead passenger’s belt and fired three projectiles into the struggling human in the back seat. Tossing the weapon down, he vaulted over the vehicle to pursue the last survivor.

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