Page 56 of Whisked Away By the Alien

With a yank, I free my horns and step back. I hate that I had to impale the male, leaving two sizeable holes in his torso. He gasps for air, the shadow of death darkening his face.

I kick the rod away from him. “No one touches my female.”

“Sten?” Golda’s sweet voice pulls me out of the blood-haze. I turn to block her view, but it’s too late. She’s seen everything, including how cruel I can be.

“We have to go.” When I bend to pick up my knives, I stumble, nearly falling over. Golda rushes to support me on my left side. As much as I’d love to accept her aid, one male remains and I won’t allow her to risk herself.

“Stay behind me,” I order as I gently dislodge her from me. When her fingers lightly press against my lower back, I start moving.

“Be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt,” she whispers.

I love that she worries about me. It’s a sign we’re meant to be.

Only one male remains. I will return for him after I get my sholani to safety. As I make our way toward the front of the warehouse, the sound of gunfire surrounds us as bullets bounce off metal shelving. Hot fire travels through my left arm.

I shove Golda to the ground and throw a knife as I turn. The knife lands squarely in the male’s chest, but he doesn’t fall. He aims again, forcing me to throw a second knife. This one lodges in his gun hand. The gun falls a second before the man.

When I bend over him to make sure he’s dead, a wave of nausea and dizziness overtakes me. I can’t stop from falling, but that’s not what scares me. It’s hearing Golda scream and wondering if I miscounted the number of males hunting us…

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

GOLDA

“Sten!” I scream when he falls. Did Wilson shoot him? If that bastard wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him.

When I reach Sten’s side, I roll him onto his back and feel for a pulse. It’s strong. I lean over and hug him. “I’m here, Sten. I’m gonna take good care of you.”

As hard as it is, I peel myself off him long enough to grab Wilson’s gun in case anyone else shows up. Then I return to Sten and run my hands over him, looking for injuries. I find a bullet hole in his upper left arm. The bullet tore all the way through, and he’s bleeding. I grab a crowbar and open a nearby crate of towels, all while cursing myself for not seeing the crowbar earlier. It would have made a nice weapon.

I bind the wound the best I can, repeatedly glancing at that gash on his head. Of the two wounds, his head injury worries me more. He was off-balance before getting shot. I need to get medical help, but in post-occupation Earth, there are no phones or communication devices in non-military and non-government buildings. The comm on Sten’s wrist catches my eye. I slide the comm around and find a bullet lodged in the device.

Okay, Golda, Plan B.

Dragging him is impossible. He’s huge. After several tries, I give up. Even if I could pull him a few feet at a time, the bus stop is a fifteen-minute walk. It would take me hours to drag him that far.

Plan C.

Fuck, I don’t have a Plan C!

Think, think, think, you idiot. There has to be something—

“Sten, I’ll be right back. I’m going to grab a few things to make you comfortable.”

After a quick kiss on his mouth, I sprint to my office where I have a few blankets for when the temperature in the warehouse dips down close to freezing. I fill a bucket with water in the bathroom and head downstairs.

He lies there so still as I wash the blood from his arm and head wounds. Even when I clean his horns with cold water, he doesn’t stir. My fear escalates the longer he lies there not moving.

“Wake up, Sten, so we can talk. Please.”

The cold cloth against his face and forehead do nothing to rouse him.

Plan C. No choice now!

After I cover Sten with blankets and place a folded towel beneath his head, I head out into the biting cold. No one else will show up here for days since we’re closed for Christmas. It’s why the criminals were here. Total privacy. Except for me. Because I was too scared to go home to my lonely apartment and face my future.

Sten only followed me here because he didn’t want to lose me.

Now, I could lose him.

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