Page 86 of Tribute
He turned his attention back to theUngrichwho had brought them into the cube.“We will leave with our citizens now. Do not try to stop us.”
“You will not leave.”
He set Anna behind him and stood, as did Kai. “We will take our citizens home. You have no authority to conduct experiments of any kind on them.”
“Palk.”
“What about him?”
“We have authority.”
“Palk doesn’t speak for the Mitan government.”
“You cannot leave. We will keep you alive as long as you serve our mating purposes.”
“That is not acceptable.”
“Then we will kill Kai Mexr. He is the least useful one.”
Kai yelped as he was lifted off his feet, his face contorting as he tried to tear off the tentacles that were strangling him.
“Put him down,”Rehz yelled in his mind. It was becoming easier the more he tried it.“Aled Price will not function if Kai is not present.”
“He will function. You know we can force him to perform . If necessary, we will keep Kai Mexr in stasis and only produce him when required to ensure Aled Price’s obedience.”
“I will not!” Aled shouted. Clearly theUngrichcontrolling him had let him hear the threat through their telepathic connection, so he continued in thought mode.“I’ll fucking kill myself if you take him away from me.”
“Don’t worry, Aled. I’ll kill you myself if Kai is taken away,” Rehz snarled. “Leave Kai here. If you won’t release Aled and Anna, we will all stay . But I warn you that our government has been informed of your actions and will be coming after you regardless of what Palk has said . He does not speak for the entire surface.”
Kai fell to the floor, his chest heaving as he sucked in deep lungfuls of air. The dark redUngrichretreated, leaving them comparatively alone. Aled had come up on his knees and was staring at Kai and Rehz as if he didn’t believe they were real.
“Kai?” he whispered.
Rehz averted his gaze as the two males locked in an embrace that seemed destined to last forever. He turned back to Anna.
“I’m sorry I can’t get you out right now. I didn’t know what else to do,” he confessed. “I need Kai alive. I can’t do anything until I understand what’s going on here.”
She stroked his cheek. “We’re together. We’ll find a way.”
He bent his head and kissed her, threading his fingers through her hair and just breathing her in. “I’ll die before I let them hurt you.”
“I don’t want you to die for me.” She pulled away from him and looked him right in the eye. “If we can’t get out, we go down together and we take them with us, okay?”
He smiled. “That’s my Anna Lee. A troublemaker to the end. What do you think they want?”
She pressed her mouth against the side of his throat and whispered, “They want offspring—human offspring. And Aled says the pair inside him really get off on humans mating.”
“We need to find out as much as we can. Can you stand it for a while longer?”
“Being fucked? I was trained by the best. Of course I can.” Her mouth quivered. “And with you here next to me, I can stand anything.”
Kai reluctantly released Aled’s mouth. “You’re exhausted. You need to sleep.”
“I still can’t believe you came for me.” Aled shook his head, not quite trusting his own eyes. “I knew Rehz would come for Anna, but you? I thought you’d disowned me.”
“Hell, I tried.” Kai nuzzled his cheek. “What the fuck would you want with an idiot like me?”
“An idiot who came intoUngrichspace to find me?” Aled kissed Kai’s fingers. “You’re my fucking hero.”
