Page 57 of Monstrous Rampage
Her chin tipped up, and she shook her head slightly, making her long black hair flutter about her shoulders. To use a human metaphor, that silky mane was like waving a red cape in front of an angry bull for a species that had no hair of our own.
Since she was on our private grid, I had the luxury of hearing her thoughts and feelings too. Even facing down a veritable herd of massive dyni, she wasn’t afraid.:Can you see what’s happening where Syko’s cell is? We need to help him escape. Oh, I also need to get this bracelet off if one of you can?—:
I was closer than Terroar and had pinchers that effortlessly snipped the metal off her wrist. I didn’t have the heart to tell her even if Syko required assistance, an alpha would never ask for help, let alone allow his mate to endanger herself.
I’d been momentarily stressed about taking command of our ragtag squad. But she took control effortlessly—without even thinking about it. An alpha female, maybe? It’d be interesting to talk to a xenobiologist and discuss parallels with any other of Earth’s species.
One thing was for certain, though.
I had no problem whatsoever doing anything she told me to do.
26
HOLLY
Worry gnawed in the pit of my stomach. Something must have gone wrong if Syko told Rekt to get me to a survival pod. Our plan was tojumpto safety. That’s why I chose a pilot in the first place.
Yet I didn’t knowhisplans. If I went racing to his aid with the rest of the dyni on the ship, we could accidentally spring a trap he’d set for Snyder.
What is Syko planning? Why can’t I know?
Because he didn’t trust me. He couldn’t. Not as long as Snyder had access to me.
An alpha didn’t do dick without a plan. Even when Axxol kidnapped Natalie from the rest of her squad, he’d had a plan. A stupid, wrongheaded one, but a plan.
Syko didn’t know me. A few minutes, maybe an hour together, in a prison cell didn’t mean jack shit. He certainly didn’t know anything about humans or what we were capable of. Which was why Axxol’s plan had been so terrible.
Twelve dyni. That meant two had gone to help Syko. The KMM—KORE Maip Macrothorax—and the Cl-ANK—CloakingAnkylosaurus. I got why he needed cloaking. But why the KORE dynos? Unless hewantedto blow up the ship?
:Here’s a live feed to the alpha’s location, though I backed it up slightly so you can see what happened,:Terroar said.:I’m so sorry, Holly.:
My stomach knotted even harder as I watched a blurred, shimmery light approaching what looked to be a dead-end hallway directly below a camera. That must be the cloaking device in action. Red lights flashed in the background. At least he’d figured out a way to get out of the tungsten cell. An arm came out from beneath the blurry light, and then I heard Snyder’s voice in my head.
“Ah, what a brilliant effort, BGR++. If I were still a professor, I’d give you an A for creativity. However, your overall grade on this exam is definitely an F.”
The blurry light dissipated, revealing a large ankylosaurus. In his humanoid form, Syko straightened to his full height at the dynos’ shoulder. His eyes flashed with power, more purple in the glaring alarm’s light. But nothing happened.
He couldn’t jump. The hallway must be tungsten too.
“Did you honestly think you could escape so easily? The entire hold is lined with tungsten, and without my approval, the lift is a one-way trip for anyone with a heartbeat.”
Syko ground his jaws back and forth, muscles flexing over his cheeks. His nostrils flared wide. Tendons stood out on his neck, his hands fisted at his sides. “The KMM’s venom is leaking through the tungsten. We can’t stop it. Hull breach is eminent. At least get Holly to safety.”
“While your concern is admirable, you’re in the hold for a reason. The rest of the ship is safely airlocked and secured.”
Tears filled my eyes, my throat aching. I didn’t know much about space, but I’d seen enoughAlienmovies to know that getting sucked through a hole in the side of the ship or through an airlock was an awful way to die.
Just minutes ago, I’d been upset that he hadn’t connected back to our grid. Now he was going to die, and all he cared about was me.
“At least let the squad be her choice.”
Snyder laughed again. “Thanks to your creative distraction attempt, she has her choice of all twelve remaining dyni. Unluckily for you, she’s now ovulating, and while their restraint is commendable thus far, you and I both know that eventually, their biological urges will take over.”
Syko tipped his head back slightly, looking directly into the camera. “You’ll never let her go.”
Even though he was speaking to Snyder, I felt his intent. The way he stared into the camera, like it was my soul. Repeating words I’d said to him in the cell. Words Snyder couldn’t possibly know.
“Never,” Snyder said in an agreeable, light voice. “Goodbye, BGR++. I can’t say it’s been a pleasure, but you at least forged the first trail for this program to continue.”
