His relief was short-lived.He knew that Cara could outrun Sarkon for a short period of time, but he worried that her leg would begin to fail her.If Sarkon caught her before Devix could reach her…
He didn’t want to think about it.Instead, he pushed his body harder, desperate to protect her, desperate to hold her safe in his arms.
Nothing would keep him from her.
And he almost felt sorry for Sarkon, but his death was imminent from the moment he stepped foot on Rozun.Because any male that threatened his female would journey to the blackworld.His only regret was that he hadn’t realized they’d been tracked earlier.He’d been too distracted by the possibility that his female would choose to return home.
Devix shook his head with a growl.Nix,he decided.He would convince her to stay.But only after she was safe and out of Sarkon’s reach forever.Only when she was protected and warm and in his arms once more.
When he burst from the edge of thepillervaforest, he froze, a rough growl tearing from his throat.
Because Sarkon had his female.They were steps away from the hidden door of the hatch and she was struggling against him, trying to break free.Her back was to Sarkon’s front, a position she’d been in with Devix during their training many, many times.
Only this time, Sarkon had an Azatian blade to her throat.
When Sarkon saw him, when Cara’s tear-streaked gaze met his own, a strange calm settled over him.He channeled the training he’d received as a warrior, an old saying floating into his mind.That emotion was good during battle, but only when controlled.Otherwise, emotion was deadly.
He needed to be in control for hisluxiva.
So, even though it was the most difficult thing he’d ever experienced, even worse than his exile or his rotations on Petrika, Devix waited for Sarkon’s next move.
More importantly, he waited for his opportunity.
TWENTY-TWO
Cara felt the cold sting of the blade at her throat, felt the cold body of the Azatian who’d tried to purchase her for his harem, to fuck at his leisure and cage.
And she could only look at Devix, who’d just burst from the edge of the forest, with his hands and claws covered in sticky black blood, not his own.Already, Cara knew he’d killed the other two Azatians and he didn’t have a scratch on him.He didn’t even have a weapon.He’d killed them with his bare hands.
One look was all it took to know that he’d do anything for her.
One look told her that she’d doubted him when she shouldn’t have.
Cara stopped her struggles, knowing they wouldn’t get her anywhere.Like Devix said, she only had so much strength.And hers was poorly matched against the alien holding her in the cage of his arms.
The few times she’d broken out of Devix’s hold during their training had been when she’d surprised him, taken him off guard.She could use that to her advantage against Sarkon.Maybe it would be enough.
Devix was perfectly still on the edge of the forest, but his gaze held a deadly intensity that almost madehershudder.
“I thought it would be beneath you, Sarkon, to come to Rozun,” Devix murmured quietly, his voice unrecognizable in its coldness.Cara realized then that she’d heard it before.When she’d first met him, he’d used that voice on her.Controlled, monotonous.
Slowly, it had warmed for her, as the days passed.She hadn’t even realized.
“When I have been betrayed,” Sarkon hissed in her ear, addressing her lover, “I will come to punish.”
“You believe you are a match for a Luxirian warrior?” Devix questioned.He raised his claws.“Your scouts were not.Their armor felt like parchment to me as I ripped through their chests and crushed their hearts.”
Cara sucked in a breath as the blade tightened against her throat.
Devix continued, “I made it quick for them.Your death, however, will not be if you do not release my female.”
Sarkon was quiet, but Cara could feel the way his heart thundered against her back.She could feel its unsteady throb even through his plated armor.
“Yourfemale?” Sarkon repeated.Then he barked out an unexpected laugh, making her flinch.“I understand now.”
“You understand nothing,” Devix growled.
Sarkon addressed her, his voice mocking in her ear, “No wonder he kept you.No Luxirian would relinquish his fated mate.”
