Page 20 of Captured
Chapter Eleven
Rakir
Juliet stands back as she’s been told, and it’s a relief. I do not want her to attract this predator’s attention.
The apex doesn’t give her a second glance, its entire focus solely on me. It’s angry and curious, eager to test its power on the new threat to its territory. Me.
Its claws dig into the ground as it paces in front of me, its wide fringe of leaf-like skin widening as it tries to intimidate me. Four eyes are on me, assessing my smallest movement, looking for a weakness. This animal is clever, clever and deadly.
It won’t abandon its goal of testing its strength on me, though.
The creature moves relentlessly, pacing and hissing, displaying all the power it can. I stand still, waiting. My talons are fully retracted, my exoskeleton fully prepared to protect me. The creature, whatever it is, stands no chance against me.
It doesn’t know this.
The creature finally stops its infernal pacing to stop right in front of me. Behind me, Juliet’s muffled cry of fear reaches the edges of my mind. I should be able to ignore it, but for some reason, the female’s fear affects me.
The creature hisses, its fringe fully deployed, fury and fangs at the ready. I hiss back, my exoskeleton hardening into its strongest armor, my talons extended, fingers flexing into deadly weapons. The animal is not deterred, fooled by my smaller size into thinking it will have the upper hand.
It leaps, its first set of claws aiming for my chest. I don’t even try to dodge it. My exoskeleton will not be harmed by mere claws.
The impact sends us toppling into the water. A great splash covers the world as my hands push against the creature’s chest. The animal screeches with fury as my talons embed deep in its flesh, blood pouring over my arms and into the clear water. It scratches at me with sudden terror, its pain and confusion at being the one injured in a fight clear. I waste no time.
A simple shove has it tumbling down on the shore, and I jump over its large body. The animal howls as I land above it, my talons slashing at its shoulder. It screeches some more, the sound deafening in the pure night air.
That’s enough.
I jump back from the animal, crouching in a threatening position a few feet to its left. I’m giving it a chance to escape, to save its life by forfeiting to me. We lock eyes, the apex and I, and time suspends. It’s bleeding profusely and as it tries to put weight on one of its front paws, the limp is clearly visible. I see it in its eyes when it understands that it is no longer the apex predator in its territory.
I am.
The animal hisses one final time, then turns and quickly vanishes in the night. I stare at the vast emptiness of the forest, feeling hundreds of eyes on me. The other creatures witnessing our fight know the same fact the apex just learned at a steep price. I’m not to be challenged. This is good, this means safety for Juliet and me. None of them will come back.
I finally turn to her and it hits me.
The female stares with eyes wide and glossy, fear brimming in every corner of her face. Her features are even more delicate and feminine, basked in the starlight, full of terror. Looking at her like that, things stir in my stomach, deep within me, from a place I know exists but never felt before.
This isn’t the savage lust from before, that pulse in my cock that pushes me to take her body for myself. No, this new feeling is wilder, stronger. More total. A devastation of my mind and flesh.
She’s mine. I don’t know how or why, but this female is mine. My Amara, my heart, my soul. My mate.
There is no looking back.
A single step is all it takes and I’m right there, in front of her. My hand wraps around her slender neck and I pull her in. I can see the defiance shining in her eyes for just a moment. Just a moment that sends shards of lust straight down to my cock. It hardens, pushing against the scales of my exoskeleton.
“Mine.” I speak the strange words of her language. She exhales forcefully, the warmth of her breath fanning my lips. “You. Mine.”
“Amara,” I add in my language, because there are no other words to describe what she is to me. “Amara.”
There are many more words I want to say to her, but she won’t understand them. Until I can repair the damage to the fuel cells, we won’t have a translator to help us communicate.
I turn around to scan the wilderness, but I know the apex won’t come back. Not so soon, anyway.
Without words, our bodies will have to suffice.
But not here. Although I’m fairly certain the apex predator will not come back, there is no telling what other predator lurks in the shadows, waiting for its chance at an easy prey.
Now that we have eaten, it is time to retreat to the safety of the ship. I scan the darkness, my hearing keen, focused on the night sounds, but I discern no threat. For now.
