Page 13 of Captured

And then he’d have her.

Teeth bared in a grin that had made other alphas blanch, Gra’ar turned and flew back across the void where a street would be on any other planet. Flea was cautious, and it wouldn’t do to linger too close and give himself away. The dark alley between two buildings would do for a hiding place since there was no real breeze to carry his scent, as long as he didn’t have to linger too long.

He’d have the little omega soon.

Chapter Nine

Flea

Her hip complained as she stretched, and for a brief moment Flea regretted giving up a life of luxury to crawl through the underbelly of a planet that cared nothing for her other than how much she could sell for. The mattress in the Collection Center may not have been worth her compliance, but it was still better than a hard floor and a thin blanket in the cold.

Grimacing, she pushed herself upright and wiggled to place her back against the wall. She had no idea how long she’d slept but the stiffness in her body suggested it had been a while. Rubbing the last of the fog from her eyes, she felt around until she found her light and clicked it on with one hand covering the bulb.

The blank walls of her small space met her gaze, sending her heart plummeting lower. While not as grimy as the outer rooms in the building, it was still clearly in need of a good cleaning, and while her fingers itched to scrub at the visible scuffs and dust, she knew there was no reason to.

Pulling her attention down to her meager pile of belongings, Flea swallowed the lump in her throat. It wasn’t like her to complain or find faults with her life, but for some reason she felt as if a weight had settled on her. Rolling to her knees and putting her light in the corner where it would allow her to see without blinding her, she shoved the feeling away and prepared to leave her temporary home. With so little, and no idea if her other stores were intact, there was no reason to leave anything behind, and she’d likely need it all if she was going to spend any time on even lower levels.

Tugging her extra shirt over her head, she tied the loose waist to be sure it wouldn’t get in the way as she climbed down from her hidden den. She slung the small pack with the bread and cheese over her shoulder after putting her tiny candles inside, but held the rest of her belongings under her arm for the moment. Clicking off the light, she gave her eyes time to adjust before opening the door and slipping out.

Door closed and locked behind her, Flea crept to the window and knelt, doing her usual checks before inching closer. She had the knife and light tucked into the back of her leggings, but bundled her boots and bottle inside the blankets she carried. When she was certain she didn’t see any signs of people nearby she tossed the bundle out the window, not wanting to deal with the drag of carrying them while she made her way down.

She waited another few minutes after the dull thud of them hitting the ground echoed back up to her. No motion caught her eye, and no sounds reached her ears, so she swung her legs out and over the edge, toes scrambling for the little carved niches to get her down. While her muscles still protested the strain she didn’t feel as weak as she had the previous time she’d exited the building and a bubble of pride lifted her spirits.

Tearing open the bundle as soon as she hit the ground, Flea tugged on her boots before tying the bottle to her belt and wrapping the blankets around her legs. It wasn’t much, but it would help hold in some of her heat and keep the chill at bay. Her knife went back in her boot, her little pack slung over a shoulder.

She was moving along the sidewalk in front of the building before she had any idea something was wrong. A strange swish of air behind her, carrying a whiff of scent she didn’t have time to place, and she was bolting.

The blankets came loose from her waist, threatening to tangle in her legs. She was able to catch one and ball it up in front of her but the second fell too low for her to grab without slowing. Kicking it away from her, she ducked around the corner of the building before daring to look back.

What came for her froze the air in her lungs, her heart stuttering as her knees threatened to buckle. It was no half-drugged alpha who’d happened upon her this time. No, it was a demon straight from nightmares, impossible wings turning him midair to follow. The grey of his skin made him look like nothing more than a lighter shadow among the rest, reaching out to drag her into them for good.

Flea choked on the scream trying to rip from her throat, turning away from the terrifying sight to pour more energy into her run.

She had to get away.

Flea usually looked to rooftops for safety from the things that chased her, but her brief glance showed that wouldn’t work. Shoving aside the part of her mind still scrambling over the sight of massive, webbed wings, she scanned ahead for an escape, hoping for a doorway or anything that would slow the beast behind her. She could hear each beat of his wings in the still air, growing closer with every second her feet pounded along.

The instinct to duck suddenly was all that saved her. Clawing fingers narrowly missed her shoulders, the air of his passage over her head sending a chill down her spine as she struggled to turn and dart in the opposite direction. Her pack slipped from her shoulder, tumbling too far for her to reach as she kept moving. The growl that followed spurred her on as she labored to run faster, taking the chance to dart into an alley too narrow for him to fly through.

Her footsteps remained steady even as her thoughts tripped over themselves. She knew most of the passable routes in the area, but she’d never had to contend against aerial pursuit. Most of them would leave her too exposed, and he’d already proven he was faster than her.

Breath coming in gulps, she decided her goal now was the same it had been when she first left her den; she needed to get to the stairwell in the level support. If she could make it there before he caught her he’d be forced to follow on foot. If she had a good enough lead on him he wouldn’t know if she went up or down, and hopefully she could lose him long enough to find somewhere to hide.

Her thighs already quivered, lungs burning with each heave of chilled air, but she pushed on. There were heavy footsteps behind her, but she refused to look back, focusing on finding the narrowest gaps between debris to slip through as she worked her way across the broken city. Curses and growls followed her path along with occasional crashes as the male forced his way through, but Flea was able to keep her lead. If there were others about who noticed her pursuit they’d hidden themselves away, not wanting to catch the attention of whatever followed her.

It was clearly a male by the bulk of him, but the dark clothing she’d glimpsed didn’t give her any clues to figure out where he’d come from. Of all the species she’d met in her life she’d never seen one with wings, and the dimness of the level left her unsure if he’d been wearing a helmet or if that was just the shape of his head.

Who andwhateverhe was, he was clearly determined to catch her.

And Flea couldn’t let that happen.

Leaving the safety of the narrow alleys she’d been twisting her way through, she took the risk of running onto the sidewalk along one of the many openings. She had no choice but to cross since the support she needed couldn’t be reached any other way, but she couldn’t help how the skin on her back crawled at the feeling of being exposed.

Taking the first bridge she came to, her lungs strained as her legs pumped their way up the curve before launching her over the far side. She winced when she landed, stumbling against the building in front of her when her ankle threatened to roll, but she had no time to stop and catch her breath. A quick glance back the way she came showed dark wings unfurling at the mouth of the alley she’d left to push her pursuer across the opening as she moved back into safer passages.

Racing on, Flea knew there was no way she was going to get far enough ahead to lose the male in the stairwell. Even on foot he was faster than her and she was only staying ahead because she knew where she was going and how to make it harder for him. The further she ran from her building, though, the tougher it was to be sure she wasn’t running herself into a trap.

And she still needed to cross two more bridges.

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