Page 15 of Fractured Souls

She lay there, dying, her hands pressed against the wound in her belly, her warm blood gushing over her fingers. It hurt so fucking badly. And beside her in the darkness lay Thomas and Del, their existence snuffed out by a cruel, vicious murderer.

This was the memory that always returned to her. Sometimes, she would wake in the middle of the night filled with terror, her heart racing, her body drenched in sweat.

I can help you make it right. Yield to me, human, and I will make you strong.

Shut up, shut up, shut up!

Unable to take it any more, Alexis screamed. Lying on her side, she made a fist and punched the wall. There was a crack. Excruciating pain shot through her right hand, but she didn’t care. The pain was like cleansing fire, overpowering those hideous memories.

The voice withdrew…

And then something warm and hard pressed against her back.

“What the hell are you doing, human?” A deep, gruff, male voice came out of nowhere, and powerful fingers curled around her wrist, locking her arm into position. He cursed softly in his alien language—Kordolian. “Why in Kaiin’s hells would you want to do this to yourself?”

Alexis froze in terror. It was him! The big red-eyed guard who sat outside her room. It was the first time she’d heard him say more than a couple of words.

How had he snuck up on her so quickly and silently, materializing like a ghost from the shadows?

She hadn’t even heard the doors open.

He moved in behind her, his body engulfing hers.

His body was warm, hard, encased in armor that felt like a second skin…

Alien.

Fear turned her into a wild thing, and she fought back with all her strength, kicking, twisting, grunting in pain as she flexed her damaged hand.

In human terms, Alexis was in good physical shape—at least she had been until she’d nearly died on the Malachi—but against this Kordolian, her struggles were futile.

He was immovable.

“Stop fighting,” he growled, holding both of her wrists in an iron grip. He swore softly as he wrapped his legs around hers, locking her body in place.

She was completely immobilized.

Helpless.

Locked in a dark, confined space with an inhumanly strong monster.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins, making her heart pound like a war drum. Dark walls closed in on her.

Panic invaded every fiber of her being. She started to hyperventilate.

Suddenly, she was back in the forest again, with the Kordolian’s hands closing around her neck as his foul tongue invaded her mouth.

Get away from me!

She was going to die here.

The realization gave her an unnatural burst of strength, and she strained against her captor’s grip with all her might…

He didn’t move an inch.

He growled in frustration. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you all of a sudden, but I’m not letting you go until I’m convinced you’re not going to hurt yourself.”

She took several deep breaths as his words sank in.

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