Page 3 of The VaDorok's Unexpected Mate
Grimacing, Katie reluctantly slid off her cot and walked toward him, aware that his eyes followed her every step. There was a sharpness within his gaze, and she knew from past experience that he was just waiting for an opportunity to force compliance. Any thought of rebelling or refusing to cooperate had fled at the memory of being brutally and painfully pinned to the ground while a guard growled and rubbed against her as he carried out her punishment. The guards looked for any excuse at all to punish them, even those that spoke more politely like this one did.
Head slightly bowed to convey submission, she followed the male from the recovery unit. She was nearly overwhelmed with nausea upon stepping out into the corridor, a prickle of fear racing over her skin. Tension tightened her muscles with every step as she followed him down the hall. Although she was coming from another direction than the HS02 cellblock she’d once inhabited, she knew exactly where they were headed. The main corridor that ran through and connected the cellblocks was always used as the scene for the Hunt. The males got some strange voyeuristic pleasure out of demonstrating their mating prowess in front of the captive humans and enjoyed the fear that it inspired among the women.
It was sick, and she knew that Dr. Xixon, no matter how educated or refined he was compared to the average Agraak guard, would take the same perverse pleasure. She wanted to throw up and wondered if even that would buy her at least a few more minutes. With the way the guard was watching her, she was certain that it wouldn’t matter. He would haul the rest of the way, covered in her own vomit if necessary, and throw her naked into the cellblock corridor without hesitation.
The only question was, which cell block would she be started from? Although the corridor connected them all, she could be released into it via any entry point. The Agraak believed that a long, exciting hunt bred stronger, healthier offspring. As humans were smaller and generally slower than their own species, the human women were given considerable head starts. In her opinion, that just prolonged the horror of what was happening. Every second during her last Hunt had nearly paralyzed her with terror.
She licked her lips as a small door came within sight with the Agraak numeral that she’d come to recognize as a three marked upon it. Cellblock three out of ten. She was given a small head start with a long corridor to run, far longer than before.Sweat popped out on her skin, and she began to tremble as the distance between her and that door gradually closed. When they reached the door, she would be brutally stripped of her clothing before being tossed inside, naked and alone with only the cries of frightened women cowering in their cells for company.
Tears sprang to her eyes despite her best efforts to prepare herself for the moment. She couldn’t do this. Punishment or not, she couldn’t force herself to go another step forward. Stomach turning, she gagged and attempted to backpedal.
The guard’s hard gaze swung toward her, a dark glee making his pupils expand. “Female,” he warned.
That token warning was all she was going to get. Katie shook her head, tears streaming. “I... I can’t. I’m going to be sick. I just n... need a... a moment.”
His eyes narrowed impatiently, his hand going to the electrified club at his hip. “Move, or I will—”
An alarm shrieked, drowning out whatever threat he’d been about to make. The Agraak’s eyes lifted momentarily, startled by the sound, but then he was turning in place, warily peering down both ends of the corridor. He stiffened as a shout rose in the distance and the sound of blaster-fire echoed up the hall. There was the sound of feet running, and a guard rounded the corner, a look of panic on his face. With one hand, he struck the side of his inopreating blaster as he ran. It wasn’t until he was almost upon them that he noticed them standing there.
“Get the female out of here!” he shouted. “The entire lab is under atta—” his words finished with a spurt of blood flying from his mouth as his entire body bowed backward from the force of a giant spear slamming into him, carrying him a good foot through the air.
Katie scuttled back, her eyes widening at the sight of the dying Agraak. As often as she’d fantasized about killing the fuckers, being confronted with the reality from an unknownaggressor was not the least bit comforting. She attempted to wheel around and flee only to find her arm caught in her escort’s iron grip.
“Where are you going?” he snarled.
She gaped at him in disbelief. “Didn’t you hear him? We need to get out of here and—”
“What we need to do is locate Dr. Xixon and priority evacuate you both from the facility,” he ground out in reply. “This may have delayed the Hunt, but you will not be escaping the doctor.”
“Are you seriously that worried about me escaping when there is something coming to kill us?” she shouted.
A deep roar filled the corridor, and she swung around in a panic, her eyes landing on the thing that had thrown the spear. Massive and covered in snowy white fur with several large horns jutting from its head, the thing roared like a lion—even looked like one with its thick mane of amber-beaded fur and feline ears peeking out from it. Its amber eyes narrowed at them, and it lashed its thick tail and charged, not even slowing as it ripped the spear from the guts of the guard crumpled on the floor.
Katie stumbled back with a scream, landing a swift elbow in the stomach of the Agraak holding her captive. He released her with a startled snarl, but he didn’t even try to stop her as he brought up his blaster. It was the dark promise in his eyes, however, that told her that she would pay for that blow before he turned his attention back to the charging alien and began to fire.
Chapter 4
Kull crashed through the window of the metal den with his brethren, the thrill of the battle pumping through his blood. As expected, the ruckus did not go unnoticed. Green aliens bearing some vague resemblance to the Edoka charged at them, their projectile weapons firing bolts of searing light. The large biriate blade of his spear absorbed them, nullifying their heat as he brought it up against them. Those that he could not counter or dodge, singed his fur with an acrid scent that made his nose wrinkle. The Agraak were agile and quick but lacked the sheer size and strength of the VaDorok.
His legs ate up the ground as he lunged forward, his biriate spear cutting the air in front of him to drive into the males as he closed the distance between them. Whirling around, he heaved his spear through the air and felt considerable satisfaction as the blade buried itself in the male with such strength that it flung him a short distance across the room. Jogging forward, he yanked his spear from the body of the fallen male and spun, skewering another on its long blade. A look of surprise fleetingly came to the male’s face before he fell backwards with a shove from Kull, his body slipping free from the spear with a squelch before crumpling to the floor.
Blood splattered on his fur, the gore spilling from them soaking into his boots. He bared his teeth and pressed on, cutting a path among the small number of Agraak flooding into the room. Ribbons of alien blood splashed over the walls from the force of VaDorok spears, and many other Agraak fell where they stood, brought down by the Edoka’s blasting weapon as the male followed in after them. They brought down male after male, soaking the floors and walls of the room with blood untila high-pitched whine pierced the air. The aliens were retreating, believing that they would be able to escape.
Kull’s lip curled in a smile of pure malice as he charged after them only to be brought up short by a shout from Vidok. The male was charging after his little female as she ran, and half slid, across the mire. Foolish female. She should know better than to run out ahead of her mate into danger. He fully intended to ignore them until Borax’s shouted order to follow the female put a halt to his intentions.
He gritted his teeth in a silent snarl. There was to be no chasing down the enemy. Their mission had one specific purpose that they expected every warrior to heed: save the human females. Kull had no interest in the females. He wanted to tear apart the intruders who soiled their world with their laboratory and experiments, and brought vulnerable females to a world that would surely kill them. He wished to be the vengeful hand of Tirzon, the great hunter and lord of the dead, who so dearly protected Mother Udula, and by extension every female.
A growl of displeasure rumbled in his chest, but he fell into line, jogging lightly as he and the other warriors followed Vidok as the priest chased after his female down one long hall and then another. She came to a door, her fingers tapping randomly on it to no avail. Kull snorted and shook her head. Useless. Turning in place, his nostrils flared, scenting the pungent stench of an Agraak nearby. He grinned. She was not going to get it open anytime soon. He was going to have the opportunity to hunt after all.
Stalking away from the group, he followed the scent to the next hall, where he surprised several guards who apparently thought that they could box them in from behind. The males stumbled back at the sight of him, tripping over each other and their own feet in a blind rush to get away. Adjusting his grip on his biriate spear, he jogged toward them, the blade of his weapondeflecting blasts long enough for him to come in close enough to strike. He rammed his spear into one male, pinning him briefly against the wall where he twitched like an insect before he yanked his weapon free and turned his next foe. One by one, he cut through them as they attempted to run. One male, however, had managed to get away. Kull caught sight of him disappearing around the corner and gave chase until he finally had the male within sight.
The male fought with his weapon as he shouted at another that Kull could not see. No matter. Warning or not, any Agraak he came upon would die. Kull grinned hungrily as he charged forward and let his spear fly loose with a violent snap of his arm. It sailed through the air, plowing into the body of the male as he ran. The small blasting weapon flew from the Agraak’s hand as the force of the spear carried him off his feet a fair distance. The spear’s length continued to vibrate in place for several seconds as Kull ran toward it, eager to pull it from the prone body to feed another Agraak to his spear’s blade.
He loped forward around the slight bend, finally bringing the other male within sight. This Agraak was larger and more heavily armed, and was holding onto a small, dark-haired human female brutally with one hand. Kull let out a furious roar as he raced forward, eager to spill the offender’s blood. The female’s head turned toward him, and he stumbled a little in reaction when he saw nothing but fear in her eyes as she looked upon him. Something within him recoiled in dismay at that look, and he immediately felt sick that she would be so terrified at the sight of him. He shook his head. It did not matter. He was there to rescue her. She did not have to accept him for him to accomplish what needed to be done.
Releasing another roar, he ran toward the male, retrieving his spear on the way. The female struggled in the Agraak’s grip, her body twisting as she jabbed her elbow hard into the male’sgut. The blow did not do much, but it did startle the guard enough that she was able to slip from his hold and sprint out of range of his reach.
Good. The further out of the way of harm she was, the better. Kull could collect her as gently as possible after dealing with the guard.
