Page 36 of Protected by the Alien Warrior Triad

What’s that sound? And, oh Gods, was I really about to let an Aurelian take my virginity?

Hadone jumps to his feet and grabs the hilt of his war hammer in a single, violent movement. Darok was waiting for his turn to claim me, but now he rushes out of the structure instead, activating his Orb-Sword as he leaps out to protect us from the source of the mysterious sounds and vibration.

I recognize the noise. It’s the sound I’d been waiting for so eagerly back in Barl – the noise of Capital defense heli-ships, roaring overhead.

I never thought I could ever get out of the city without heli-ships like these to rescue me, but somehow we’re all still alive and safe; even without the troops of the Capital to protect us

My body feels so empty as I pull up my pants. Ineedthe warriors so badly it hurts.

I shake my head, trying to clear the fog of my intense sexual arousal. Idowant to see the heli-ships – but before I leave our shelter, I lean over and give Forn a light kiss on his forehead.

He mumbles something in his sleep, eyes flickering from the sound of the heli-ships overhead - but as soon as I gently stroke his hair, Forn closes his eyes again and falls back into a restorative slumber.

I pull myself from the shelter. Outside, the four orphans are awake and they’re emerging from their own shelter. Runner looks at me with open suspicion, judging me for sleeping in the same makeshift hut as the Aurelians. He might be young, but I have an idea that he suspects what was going to happen – and that he hates me even more for it.

Runner was such a sweet boy just days ago. Now I see his father in him more than ever before – mirroring that vile man with each suspicious glance at me, and each hateful glare at the Aurelians. I get a strange wave of fear that he’s going to do something to Forn while the leader of the triad is helpless, but I push it out of my mind.

Runner might hate Aurelians, but surely he wouldn’t hurt them.

“They’re going to rescue everyone!” Tod cries out, his voice full of hope. I smile, hoping desperately that Edgar managed to survive long enough to be rescued. If anyone could outlast a Scorp attack, it’s that stubborn old man.

I step out from beneath the shelter of the trees, and furrow my brow. There are only a dozen heli-ships roaring overhead. The Capital should have senthundredsto fight off the teeming Scorp infestation.

How can they possibly defeat all those Scorp warriors with so few soldiers? Are they merely a rescue team?

Fear grips me as I struggle to comprehend. I look back, expecting to see a second wave of heli-ships in close pursuit. Then Stacy screams, and I whip my head towards her.

“Go back into the tent!” I yell, pushing the kids away from the ghastly sight.

Hadone and Darok join me in somber silence as we watch the heli-ships unleash napalm on my city of Barl. Grief twists my heart as I remember Edgar telling me with such hope that reinforcements would arrive.

Instead, the Capital are scorching the Earth – obliterating the Scorp threat, even at the cost of the survivors still sheltered there.

As we watch, the city turns into a pyroclasm. The cheap materials of the shanty towns and old wooden buildings are like tinder – and as the heli-ships pour military-grade incendiary across onto the city it sparks and roars like an oven.

The stone walls surrounding Barl parallel that metaphor. They must be keeping the heat inside – turning the temperature up even higher. My heart grieves for those who’d made it this long against the Scorp horde, only to be roasted alive in this inferno.

I feel like I canfeelthe screams of survivors – the poor wretches who’d thought they had escaped the worst of the Scorp attack, before being betrayed utterly by the Capital forces.

The Capital didn’t eventryto fight off the Scorp. They just burned downeverything.

I look back to the small tent where the four orphans are peeking out. They quickly duck their heads when they see me watching. I’ve dealt with the trauma of knowing my parents died in a Scorp attack my entire life. I know that the four children will have to deal with a similar trauma – the sight of their home city burning, while they remain safe, for the rest of their lives. Survivor’s guilt. I wish I could have spared them that, and from the grisly sight of the burning city, but I couldn’t.

If it wasn’t for the three Aurelians, we’d all be burning alive right now.

Moments ago, I was nearlytakenby the Aurelians – claimed in ways I’d never even known I wanted. The decisive way that Hadone simplypulledme into the tent, like he was a caveman simply claiming his property, was like a primordial switch being turned on in my mind. I never knew I needed to be taken so badly – claimed with rough desire.

Iwantedit – I can hardly believe that.

Now I look at their strong, powerful bodies, and notice the white of their ivory skin reflecting the fire of the burning city behind us.

I’d spent my whole life hating Aurelians. Now, I feel something else. It’s not just lust. No, when the Capital came to burn us, these three powerful men had came to save us.

I don’t know where they’re from, or how they got here, but I do know that I have to keep them away from the Capital’s military.

They saved my life. Now I have to save theirs.

I’d thought originally that I could make the soldiers of the Capital see reason when they encountered these Aurelians. Now I see how futile that hope had been.

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