Page 107 of Claimed by an Alien Warrior

“Get those birds herenow!” the man —Stantz— shouted.

As Ren closed the distance between them, he made no attempt to mask the crunch of snow beneath his feet.

Stantz spun to look at Ren, eyes wide and fearful, and stumbled, crashing to the ground. He turned onto his back and scrambled away in retreat as Ren leapt at him.

Ren landed with his legs on either side of Stantz’s and loomed over the human.

“You’re declaring war against the United States of America!” Stantz shouted desperately. “Think about it. Even you can’t stand against this country!”

Grabbing a fistful of the man’s coat, Ren lifted the man’s torso off the ground. Stantz drew a gun from a hip holster. Before he could aim the weapon, Ren caught his wrist in a hand and squeezed. Bone snapped under the aligarii’s crushing grip. The human screamed.

A distant whirring sound heralded the approach of more helicopters.

“Mercy! Show mercy, and I’ll make sure you and the woman aren’t killed!” Stantz pleaded.

Zoey.

Leaning down over the human, Ren bared his teeth. “You may have doomed her already.”

“W-w-we can get her m-medical attention,” the human stammered, “the b-best in the world!”

“You tortured and killed all that remained of myUmen’rak,” Ren growled as he formed a blade on his lower right arm. “You took my people from me, took my home from me, and now you seek to take Zoey from me, as well? Now you face justice for what you’ve done.”

Stantz stared at the thrumming vrahsk, which cast a pink-purple glow on his terrified face. “The woman can go. She can—”

The human’s words ended in a pained, startled grunt when Ren thrust the blade into his gut, beneath his ribs, and into his heart. Shock and confusion mingled on Stantz’s features.

“This is a better death than you deserve,” Ren spat. He dismissed the vrahsk and let the lifeless body collapse in the snow.

Without wasting another breath, Ren raced back to Zoey. The sound of helicopters was rapidly growing louder.

He leaned into the battered vehicle from the open passenger side. She was pale, lips tinged blue, but turned her head toward him.

“Ren?” she asked weakly. One of her hands fell on his arm, her icy fingers closing in a weak grasp.

“I’m here,” he replied. His internal temperature, already high from pushing his nyros, only increased as he examined Zoey. Her left forearm had an odd bend in its center, and the flesh around it was dark with bruising. Her skin was cold, her breathing labored, and though the flow from her leg wound had slowed, she’d lost a great deal of blood. Too much.

The steam rising from his body made the air inside the vehicle waver.

More. Need to force out a little more…

“We need to go,kun’ia,” he said as he carefully gathered her in his arms, somehow managing to suppress the tremors threatening to course through his limbs.

“I’m s-s-so cold.”

“I know, Zoey.” He drew Zoey out of the vehicle, wrapped his arms around her, and held her to his chest. She cried out as he moved her. The sound pierced him, more painful than any wound he’d ever suffered.

“I l-love y-you, Ren,” she said quietly against his shoulder, her body limp but shivering.

“And I love you.”

Spotlights swept across the open field as the helicopters came over the trees. Gritting his teeth, Ren projected his cloaking field to encompass himself and Zoey together. “I’m sorry it hurts. We just have a little farther to go.” He kissed the top of her head and held her tighter. “Stay with me,kun’ia. I can’t lose you.”

He ran through the snow and plunged into the woods, leaving the blood and searchlights behind. The speed was jarring to her, but he couldn’t move any slower. He didn’t have to know much about human biology to guess that she was near the limits of what her body could endure.

She was dying, and Rendash didn’t know how to save her.

The ship was his only hope. There were medical pods aboard; it didn’t matter if there was a chance they weren’t functioning, or if they were only attuned to his species. He’d find a way.

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