The second shadow spoke, his voice more of a growl. Deeper. Cruel. “We don’t have time for this. We need to find the key.” He stared at me, his smile cruel.
Shit. Did he havefangs?
“Let her bleed out. Kill the animal. We will dump the bodies later.”
The first man followed orders. He lifted his arm in my direction, pointing his gun at Lilah. Not a normal gun. A strange, silver space gun.
These were the definitely the aliens. I’d found them.
Hysterical laughter bubbled up inside me; I knew I was dying. But these assholes were not going to kill my dog. “No!”
I threw myself in front of Lilah as a bolt of light came from the end of his weapon. Fiery pain exploded in my hip as my opposite shoulder slammed into concrete. My skull hit next, the pain causing black spots at the edges of my vision, quickly forming a tunnel as I tried to stay conscious.
“Don’t hurt her.” I lifted my hand, palm out in an appeal. “Don’t. Please.”
A shadow appeared behind the two assailants. Darker. Silent. Like Death himself coming for me.
Scalding heat exploded though my hand, a welcome distraction from the pain.
Except, I didn’t hurt anymore. I didn’t feel anything…
The dark shadow moved closer, coming up behind the two aliens. The faint light of a distant streetlamp illuminated his features. Chiseled jaw. Dark eyes. Black hair. Lips that were pure sin. He was beautiful. So very beautiful. Death was supposed to be an angel, too? Wasn’t he?
Ifthatwas the angel of Death, he could take me. Hopefully more than once.
Lilah barked, pulling at her leash. I didn’t have the strength to hold her back. I thought I heard shouts over her loud growling, but the sounds were far away. The hard concrete pressed painfully into my bones. My head throbbed. Cold. I was cold now. So cold. Everywhere except my hand. That was warm. So nice. So warm.
So tired.
I closed my eyes and imagined my angel of Death holding me, telling me everything was going to be all right. I held onto the fantasy as long as I could, until there was nothing at all.
2
Stark
What wasthe human doing here? No sane female would seek out these bastards.
Until she appeared, everything had been going to plan. Humans in a black vehicle had arrived to pick up some Quell at the odd window on the side of the building. I’d marked their vehicle so I could track them once I was done here.
Then? Chaos. Human weapons firing. The female was injured, severely.
The Siren operatives didn’t know I was here. Not yet. But I would take pleasure in ending their lives. Males of worth did not harm females of any species.
“Let her bleed out. Kill the animal. We can dump the bodies later.”
I moved closer without making a sound.
“No!” The female’s voice rang out.
I watched the Rogue 5 hybrid lift his ion blaster and point it toward the animal. I could not afford to intervene. Rokor, their leader, was dangerous. Deadly. I could not lose foc—
I felt the blast to my hip as if I were the one shot. The barrier in my mind shattered like broken glass and suddenly I was seeing through two sets of eyes.
She held up her small, blood-stained hand and begged for her pet’s life. “Don’t hurt her. Don’t. Please.”
I saw myself through her eyes, a shadow moving closer, Death himself. She was not afraid of dying, nor of me. She wanted—Fuck.My cock twitched. Hard. Hot. My hand burned. She wanted to be in my arms. She ached for me.
She wasmine.
