Page 47 of Marked
Pillars of brilliant green energy erupted from the front of the ship, blinding in their intensity, illuminating the dark like twin suns being born. The force of the weapons firing sent a deep, bone-rattling vibration through the floor beneath me, a rumble so powerful it felt like the ship itself was growling. Another blast followed, then another, each shot shaking the entire vesselas we threw every ounce of firepower we had at the massive shield blocking our escape. The beams hurtled forward, streaks of raw energy crackling like furious lightning, smashing into the shimmering hexagonal barrier that had imprisoned us on this godforsaken planet.
For a terrible moment, nothing happened. The shield held.
And then, it cracked.
The interlocking grid of hexagons pulsed once, twice, before a brilliant white-hot fissure split across its surface. A violent explosion of energy erupted outward, sending jagged fragments of the shield spiraling in all directions. The glow intensified, flashing so brightly I had to throw up my hands to shield my eyes, but Ifeltit more than saw it—the moment it finally shattered. The entire constructcollapsed, breaking apart like a crumbling glacier, its pieces disintegrating into molten debris that rained down in fiery streaks.
The ship kept firing as we barreled toward the wreckage, smashing through what remained of the once-impenetrable wall keeping us trapped inside Ghengra’s gravitational grip. But there was no time for relief. Because the second the shield disintegrated, the wreckage camefor us.
“Engage our shields!” Alaric bellowed, his voice laced with a rare sliver of urgency.
“On it!” Tanika snapped back, and then her eyes rolled back in her head, taking control of the ship once again.
A shimmering force field flickered into place just as the first chunk of debris hurtled toward us. It struck with a deafeningboom, the impact rattling the ship so violently that I nearly jolted out of my seat. More followed—twisted shards of metal,glowing remnants of energy, the skeletal remains of the very barrier that had once held us captive. They crashed against the shield in rapid succession, hammering us from every angle, each collision a thunderous explosion that sent jolts through my bones. I gritted my teeth, gripping the armrests as the ship shuddered beneath the relentless onslaught.
For one terrifying second, I wasn’t sure if our shields would hold.
But then, the worst of it passed. The rubble thinned. And suddenly, there was nothing in front of us but endless open space.
I sucked in a breath, my hands still shaking as I lifted my gaze. Through the front window, the void stretched vast and endless, an ocean of darkness speckled with brilliant, unblinking stars. The sheer immensity of it stole the breath from my lungs.
We had done it. We werefree.
“Stabilize a course for Earth. Run a full detailed diagnostic on all systems,” Alaric instructed.
“I thought you’d never ask,” Tanika muttered, the look of relief on her holographic face obvious.
CHAPTER 8
Kendra
Once we were several light years from Ghengra, Alaric was finally confident enough to leave the command center and let Tanika take the helm. The weapons hadn’t caused overheating, and the ship had come out of the entire thing unscathed. We were lucky. But most important, we were no longer under Ghengrill control.
We had escaped.
For a while, we just sat and watched the stars together, little twinkling lights that flew by as we soared through the nothingness of space. It was peaceful, soothing even, and I found myself relaxing.
“Come, little Lupenii. We have much to discuss. There is much to tell you,” he said softly, offering me a hand. I entwined my much smaller hand within his, feeling the roughness of the texture of his skin against the softness of mine.
He was strong, but so was I.
Truth be told, we were strongest together.
He led me down the main central hallway until we found the captain’s quarters. The room was fairly large for a bedroom on a spaceship and featured a fairly sizable king bed with a simple navy coverlet. Everything was rather angular and masculine, with sleek metal walls and a hard meshwork patterned floor.
He sat on the bed and pulled me into his arms.
“You are mine forever, little Lupenii,” he murmured.
“I know. You’ve mentioned it before,” I replied softly, gazing up at him.
“But I haven’t explained what that really means, did I, baby doll?” he pressed, and I shook my head. He took a deep breath and began to speak. I simply sat in his lap and listened.
“I am Lupenii. Back on Earth, I marked you as mine in every way with my seed. And your body accepted my mark. I didn’t expect that because a successful Lupenii mating is a very rare event that many of my species never get to experience. But I found you, and now you’re connected to me in the deepest physical and chemical sense possible. You will never be able to orgasm by yourself ever again. You won’t be able to come with anyone else either. The idea of being with anyone other than me will leave you feeling physically sick. The same goes for me too. I will never take anyone else. You belong to me, and now I belong to you. You are my mate in the most fundamental way imaginable,” he continued, and I licked my lips as the full weight of his words washed over me.
“Tell me more about the mark,” I whispered, my curiosity overwhelming.
“The mark is a test of sorts. It is not just a claiming as other alien couplings are known to be. Either your body could accept my mark, or it could reject it. Our species evolved to be this way as a self-defense mechanism, enabling the female to reject a mate should he be deemed unsuitable. If the thought of me didn’t arouse you enough, little Lupenii, I would never have been able to have you,” he explained.
