Page 31 of Venomous Lust
The stories she’d heard were full of terror and primitive beasts. Not civilized at all. She opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out. She was scared voiceless. Without speaking, Zaxis came to her side and she turned to meet his gaze.
His eyes were deadly serious and his expression was closed off. He obviously felt the same way as Khal about Garana.
Then Khal walked off into the red fog and there was no more time for hesitation. Hazel hurried to keep up, skipping a step every so often as Khal stalked across the open, empty landing strip in long, efficient strides.
Garana was as barren and devoid of softness on the ground as it appeared from above. The red sand blew, fine as powder and abrasive under the constant wind. Visibility was zero after more than twenty feet, and all Hazel could see of the town was a faint outline of low, clumped together buildings. Soon, her eyes were itching and her throat filled with the dust. She coughed, but never slowed down. At arm’s length in front of her, Khal showed no signs of being affected by the foul air, walking with his blue eyes reflecting what low light there was, his gaze alert and his body full of tension, ready for anything.
At her back, Zaxis coughed, but didn’t lose ground. The air was affecting him as well.
Then, just as she was afraid she couldn’t go any further, they arrived at a steel door carved into the face of a low, angular building without any windows or markings identifying what it was. As Khal got nearer, the door opened to reveal yet another hard-faced Eok. This one was younger, and his eyes widened at the sight of the commander of the Earth forces.
“Commander Khal.” The younger Eok inclined his head in deference. “It’s an honor.”
“Let them in, Hayro,” Commander Gerkin’s voice called from a remote, dark corner of the room. “And reserve your honors for a situation that truly warrants it. Commander Khal stepping through the door hardly counts as an exploit deserving of your awe.”
The young Eok’s cheeks became darker as he blushed deeply and he scuttled to the side in a hurried, chastened way. Anger flashed in Hazel at the sight of the young Eok being treated so harshly, but she stayed silent. Eoks could fend for themselves, they didn’t need her intervention. She peeled her eyes off the young Eok and looked around the wide, dark room.
It was bare and long, the walls made of the same metal as the exterior. A few items of scattered furniture provided little comfort to those inside. A long desk stood in the back of the room, and strewn about the place were a dozen stiff-backed chairs. The entire place was illuminated by a low floating orb, casting a cold, diffused light that didn’t seem to reach all the way to the corners. She knew Eoks didn’t need it—they saw in complete darkness as well as in daylight, so they had little need for the glowing orbs. Still, it gave the entire room an aura of hostility, of utter and complete desolation.
A dozen or so Eoks stood or sat around the room in scattered groups of two or more individuals. Various shades of blue eyes settled on her with an all-male hunger as Hazel came to stand by Khal’s side. Her entire body shivered with the awareness of danger as the males all inched subtly toward the group of newcomers. A few of the Eoks glanced curiously at Zaxis and reverently at Khal, but most just stared at her.
I should have obeyed Khal. I don’t belong here.
Commander Gerkin cast a wide glance around the room and his face lit up with a perverse amusement as he looked at his troops. Then his gaze landed on her for the second time. The amusement faded from his pale, unfeeling eyes and gave way to lust, unashamed and ravenous.
“I told you bringing a female on Garana wasn’t safe. She’s proving too big a temptation for my warriors.” Gerkin spoke while pursing his lips, exposing two sharp fangs. “There will be a Claiming before this day is over.”
As if the world had stopped making sense, Hazel turned on her heels to see the Eoks were closer now. Desire and violence lined their gazes as they looked at her body.
A Claiming?
If she knew anything about the looks in those Eoks’ eyes, a Claiming wasn’t something she wanted to happen. Her gaze fluttered briefly to Zaxis, whose face had gone from pale to deathly white, then landed on Gerkin. The Commander of Garana was looking at her like she was naked and offered on his bed, his lips pulled even higher back from his teeth, exposing the entire length of his fangs.
Then a feral hiss came from her side and Hazel turned to see Khal, his long, sharp fangs exposed to view and a glint in his eyes that poured ice down her bones, freezing her in place with terror. He looked like a nightmare walking out of her darkest night, an angel of death filled with wrath and violence.
“No one touches Hazel.” Khal moved in a fluid motion until he stood just in front of her, so close that she would only have to lift her arm to touch those wide shoulders whose heavy muscles were stiff and bulging.
“The female is unmated.” Gerkin spoke deliberately slowly, articulating each word while facing Khal. “She’s free to be Claimed. The strongest male will have the honor of taking her as a prize.”
“The days of Claiming a female who doesn’t want to be claimed are over.” Khal spoke with a voice lost in a guttural, deep growl. “There will be no contest to win Hazel. Not today, not ever.”
Gerkin’s eyes gleamed with something akin to joy as his lips twisted downward into a fearsome grimace. “She is unmated and human on a planet almost entirely populated by young male warriors. Warriors who haven’t laid eyes on a female in months—or years.” His voice fell flat and emotionless, all traces of joy gone. “I won’t have a riot for her sake. She will be Claimed by the strongest male. A clean, old-fashioned contest. Such is my authority on Garana.”
A quiet descended over the room, a silence expectant with the promise of things to come. Dread slithered under her skin as the blue eyes of the Eoks turned deadly, their marked faces taking on the expression of ones readying themselves for battle. Even the young Eok from before, the one name Hayro, stood with the others, his juvenile face contorted in such naked greed she almost choked at the sight of it. If he ever had respect and awe for Khal, it was gone now.
What the hell happened to these guys? They’re like dogs sniffing a female in heat.
Somewhere, deep in the recesses of her mind, she knew. She knew what was going to happen in that room, and what was going to happen to her afterward.
“Hazel is mine.” Khal’s voice grew louder over the assembled warriors. They stopped moving, first surprise, then wariness on their faces. Some even took a step back in obvious deference to the challenge. “No one else can have her.”
“You claim this human female is your mate?” Gerkin’s face went slack with surprise. “She bears no scent. If you haven’t sealed the mating, then she is still free for another to claim.”
Khal hissed. He actually hissed at Gerkin, the sound so terrible, it made all other Eoks retreat hastily to a safe distance. Only Gerkin remained close by, unimpressed by Khal’s threat. In fact, he seemed excited by it.
He relished the prospect of a fight with Khal, Hazel realized. Enjoyed the idea of it.
We should never have come here.
