He stared at my lips. His nose twitched and his gaze rose once more to meet mine. He took a deep breathe. From my peripheral vision I noticed his body reacted. For some reason, he lost his erection. He went limp. He was still huge, but he’d lost interest. Should I be happy about that or insulted? Whatever. Maybe he’d let me go home. I knew this was a mistake. Knew it. Said it. None of these guys had listened to me.
“What have you done to her?” Accusation in his tone, he practically snarled at the doctor.
I thought the doc would be intimidated. Instead, he crossed his arms and stared right back, eyebrow raised. “Warlord Kai, I have done nothing. Your mate is in perfect health, a bit underfed perhaps, but?—”
Underfed? “Hey! That’s rude. I’m sitting right here.”
“—But, other than using the ReGen wand to heal the bruises on her wrists and ankles, she has not been treated.”
“Then how has her scent been altered?” My scent? What was Kai talking about?
“I assure you, I have done nothing.” Doctor Surnen’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps I should run some additional diagnostics.”
“Yes. My beast insists something is not right.” Kai grunted, went to an alien station in the corner and made himself some black pants. He shoved them on while the doctor waved his magic wand all around me again, head to toe.
I was fine. I knew it. He knew it. Kai came back over and stared down at me. “May I?”
“May you what?”
“I need to scent you.”
I shrugged. Could these guys get any weirder? Maybe this Atlan was finally figuring out what I’d been saying for the last few hours was true. He had thewrong girl.“Sure. Why not. If it’ll make you cavemen actually listen to me.”
He leaned in and sniffed my neck. I closed my eyes and held perfectly still.
Boom!
What was that?
Boom! Boom! Boom!The walls shook with the force of mighty blows.
A male voice came through their speaker system. “Doctor, Warlord Tazo demands entry.”
Great. Another one?
“What is going on?” The doctor turned to Governor Maxim, who shrugged.
“Let him in before he breaks another fucking door.” Doctor Surnen sounded annoyed by the interruption. Kai moved away and stood between me and the door like a noble knight protecting his lady. Too bad I didn’t feel anything for him. He seemed like a nice enough alien.
I wrapped the green blanket more tightly around my shoulders and leaned to the side so I could peak around Warlord Kai’s large frame. The door slid open to reveal another Atlan, this one clearly in full beast mode. He looked ready to kill everyone in the room.
The governor and Rice-man both pulled blasters, but it was Maxim who addressed the enraged beast. “Tazo, stand down.”
I couldn’t see Kai’s face, but his voice was deadly serious. “His mating fever is out of control. He might not respond.” Before he finished speaking, he started to change. I watched as the muscles and bones of his bare back and shoulders cracked and expanded. He grew taller. Wider. He turned into his beast.
Were they going to fight? Was this new warlord really going to attack all of us? I looked over the newcomer and focused on hiding my reaction because holy shit, he was gorgeous. Dark auburn hair, tanned skin, and dark blue eyes the color of storm clouds. His jaw was cut like a god’s, his brow arched and regal. He looked like a prince, an ancient god, a warrior without equal. Everything about him made my body react. He was huge, like Kai and the others, but for some reason I could not look away, couldn’t stop admiring the smooth movement of muscle under his black pants and shirt. He wasn’t wearing armor and his clothes clung to his frame like liquid silk. After seeing Kai naked, I didn’t have to use much imagination to know what was underneath those clothes.
Why was he here? Why did he try to pound down the door? I was so confused.
Warlord Tazo ignored the Prillons and glared at Kai, a challenge clear in his eyes. “Mine!”
What?Was this second Atlan trying to say I was his mate? This had to be a joke, right? “Of course there’s another one. God. What is happening? You’re all crazy. I need to go home.”Enough. None of them were listening to me. My sister was in danger. And now there wasanotherAtlan beast joining the party? I didn’t care how sexy this beast was, how badly I wanted someone to wrap me in their arms and tell me everything was going to be all right. I’d been attacked, interrogated, watched a battle play out in my living room complete with blood, gore and a pile of dead bodies, been kidnapped, taken to another planet, inspected and interrogated some more by huge alien males who wouldn’t listen, and ordered to stay put and wait, wait, wait while my sister could be back home being killed by those Hive things. No more. Done. I was out of here. Fuck all these idiots.
I hopped off the medical bed. My bare feet hit the cold, smooth floor and I walked toward the door. Warlord Kai’s arm came down to block me, his forearm crossed my chest and his hand wrapped around my far shoulder to stop me in my tracks.
“My lady, stay back. He is in a killing mood and not thinking clearly.”
Warlord Tazo lost his shit the second Kai touched me. “Mine!”
