Page 7 of Taming the Alien Outlaw
“Then take me back to Preska.” Maybe Janik will actually listen.
“Unfortunately, I can’t do that.” He closes the distance and walks beside me. Mak goes bounding off ahead of us.
“Why not? All you have to do is drop me off at the border, and I’ll find the nearest guard to escort me back to the dormitory.” Easy enough.
He glances over at me and in the waning light, his teeth gleam brightly with that familiar cocky grin. “Because I don’t want to.”
Chapter 4
Janik
I don’t understand this female. Despite Olivia believing me to be under attack by a vicious beast, she attempted to defend my life. Even after saying she doesn’t like me—a point I will admit hurts to acknowledge, although I’m not sure why.
Her anger is palpable as we stride through the rainforest toward the rebel camp, and she does nothing to quiet her footsteps or hide her emotions. In a world full of people I can’t fully trust, it’s almost a relief to know exactly where I stand with Olivia.
There are still those within my ranks who are unsatisfied with the time it’s taking for Alik to give up his throne to me. Ones who can feel the mating fever becoming more difficult to control. It doesn’t help that our supply of kanet powder isn’t nearly enough and grows smaller every cycle. One more grievance to lay at the prince’s feet.
“You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”Olivia’s voice washes over me.
“I didn’t think you were talking to me?”
“Are you always such an asshole?”
Oddly, only with her. Maybe because I enjoy how flushed her face gets when she’s angry. The way her eyes spit fire at me. She unsettles me in ways I can’t explain and have never experienced before. It’s only fair she should feel as unsettled as me.
“Not always. I guess you just bring it out.”
To my surprise, Olivia laughs, but it sounds hollow. “That’s what my ex-boyfriend used to say, too. He was so nice to everyone else. The perfect guy people loved. Me, though? Me, he treated like shit and it was always my fault, because I’m the one who brought it out in him.”
Guilt strikes me. Shame. The greatest, though, is rage. How dare some male blame her for treating her so badly?
Isn’t that exactly what you just did?
As much as I enjoy sparring with Olivia, I don’t want to hurt her in the way it sounds as though this male did. “Once again, I must ask for your forgiveness.”
She glances over at me. “Are you being sarcastic?”
“Not at all.”
Confusion crosses her face. “Thanks, then, I guess.”
That’s better than anger. Perhaps I merely need to keep her off-guard without being—as she says—an asshole. “To answer your question, we’re going to my camp.”
“Where I’m your guest.” Olivia makes a strange gesture with two fingers of each hand when she speaks the last word.
“Honoredguest.”
“Yay, me.” Her dry sarcasm is amusing. “You do realize Alik and Horek are going to send people to rescue me, right?”
“They will try, but they will fail.”
Olivia blows out a harsh breath. “You sound awfully confident.”
“I am. The prince does not want a war, and he knows that’s what he’ll get if he attempts to raid our camp. It’s the reason he hasn’t done so already.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that anymore. Youused to bejust an annoyance until you killed Konek.”
Instinct has me wanting to snap at her, but I take a calm, measured breath. “I told you before, if this male was killed, it was not my doing.”
