Page 16 of Alien From Nowhere

He grunts at the impact, but he’s strong enough not to be taken down by it. The door that was left open is now crowded with others that have come to see the trouble brewing. A fight like this is prime entertainment.

“Tied up and bleeding like a carcass readied for a roast,” Varger sneers at me. “You are pitiful.”

“And you are dead,” I reply.

“That is confident talk for a male with no weapon,” he says, pulling a stinger from his holster.

This is the second time I’m being threatened today, but this time, my attacker is much less pleasing to the eye.

“What, no fair fight?” I ask loudly to ensure the gathered onlookers will hear.

Varger hesitates, sparing a quick glance over his shoulder. The male standing at the door lazily walks inside.

“Let’s see a good fight, Varger,” he says with a grin. “Captain will be on our asses in a minute, so make it worth our while.”

“Bets!” Someone shouts, pushing their way inside. “I’m taking bets!”

Varger is visibly annoyed as more of the crew start pouring into my quarters. Soon we’re surrounded by a tight circle. I let out a laugh as Varger realizes he won’t get off easy if he shoots me.

My opponent reluctantly holsters his weapon once more and nods at me, removing the strap to ready himself for an honorable hand-to-hand match. I strip my shirt, knowing that the bug man fights dirty. Verguli are a species with an exoskeleton, hard to hurt unless you get them in a vulnerable spot.

“Here comes the prize now,” someone announces to a chorus of laughter.

I curse, praying to the spirit that that doesn’t mean what I think it does.

Sure enough, the crowd makes way for my female. She pushes her way through, sticking her pointy elbows into the crew members in her path.

“You have a problem with me, not him!” Raina shouts. The crew continues laughing at her words. “Fight me instead of Niko.”

“That’s not how this works,” Varger says. “You will be the prize, not the opponent.”

I make a move toward my female, theamma’kadriving me. She shouldn’t be here at all. I was sure she’d be launching an escape pod off this ship or commandeering the captain’s quarters by now.

Three males grab for Raina, restraining her arms and covering her mouth. Varger is pushed in between me and my mate, and for the first time, he has the sense to look frightened. Somewhere, in my logical mind, I know that the crew members that are touching Raina do not mean to keep her. If I was thinking straight, I might ignore their rudeness and finish Varger off before claiming my ‘prize,’ as they’ve labelled her. But I am not thinking straight; I am thinking like a male whose mate is squirming and struggling against the hold of three different males. Thekalipulsing through my body is making the decisions right now.

“Release her now or I will cut off the hands of all those that touched her,” I say.

The only answer I receive is more cheers from the spectators.

The crowd wants to see blood. And I will give it to them now.

Varger is readying for me to fight him. But I stride around him and shove his shoulder instead of striking him. The force of my push sends him into the tight ring of jeering males, and I don’t pursue him. I head for my female. The three males watch me approach with confusion at first. Their smiles fade as they realize it’sthemthat I plan on attacking first.

“You dare to rutting touch her?” I growl, raw anger pouring off me. I take one of them by the neck and squeeze. The crowd goes wild. My change in target doesn’t matter to them. They wanted a show, and now they are getting it. Unfortunately for them, their bets won’t stand because I’ve changed the rules.

All three of my new opponents are Verguli, probably Varger’s friends that came to cheer him on from the front row. I toss the first to the floor once he starts choking, even as I’m driving my foot into the chest of the second one. When my hand is free, I grab his arm, using the leverage to make his shoulder pop. He chirps an insectoid screech of pain.

Raina manages to free herself from the third Verguli with a violent kick to his groin and a snap of her head into his chin. She rushes to me. At first, I expected her to jump into my arms, but she slips behind me so that we’re back-to-back.

“It’s four on two now,” someone is saying. “We need to reset the bets. What do you think, four Verguli against the Kar’Kali and his feral mate?”

All four Verguli have received their blows, but they have picked themselves up and started to circle us. There’s no more quipping in name-calling, just rabid panting and glares while their mandibles click menacingly.

“I know you like to stab and shoot,” I call over my shoulder to my mate. “But what is your experience with brawls like this?”

“Just tell me where to aim,” she says.

“You cannot shoot,korika,” I explain. “It must be fair.”

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