My memories would come back. I didn’t know how I was sure, but I was. Until then, I would have to operate on instinct. That shouldn’t be so bad. A warrior should have finely honed instincts.
“If only I knew who I was fighting for and against,” I said in a hush.
Of course, I could safely assume whoever imprisoned me was not a friend.
A scraping, creaking sound shocked me from my calm, and I struggled to stand as footsteps approached.
“He’s up,” someone growled, and they didn’t sound happy about it.
Three figures emerged from the shadows. Two burly men in dark uniforms held weapons pointed at me.
Blasters, I thought, the word rising sluggishly from the depths of my brain. They were pointing blasters at me. I didn’t need to remember anything more to know I didn’t want those shooting me.
I frowned at the males, a growl emanating from my throat unbidden. Were these the ones responsible for my injury? Were these the warriors who’d made me forget everything?
My growing anger halted when my gaze landed on the third person in the group. The female was clearly not one of them. By the way they gripped her arms, she was also their prisoner, although she was not dressed like me.
The female with wild curls like dancing flames did not wear a battle kilt, nor did she possess a tail. Human, I thought. She is human. I wasn’t entirely sure what it meant to be human, but I knew she was one and I was not. I also felt a twinge of unease about humans, although it made no sense that I should fear a creature so much smaller than me.
Then my unease was overpowered by the urge to protect her, despite knowing who she was to me. The instinct to leap across the room, reach through the bars, and rip the warriors’ hands from her arms was so powerful I swayed on the spot.
“Get to the back,” one warrior bellowed. “Unless you want to get shot again.”
So, theyhadshot me. My fingers tingled with an urge I didn’t need memory to recognize. I might not know who I was or whyI was there, but I knew two things: I wanted to protect her, and I wanted to kill them.
My eyes drifted to the female between them and her pleading expression. I backed up, raising my palms in supplication and schooling my quivering tail.
One of the warriors opened the door to the cell, and the other shoved the female in with a malevolent grin. “She’s all yours, Vandar.”
My mind snagged on the word. Vandar. Was that my name?
Before I could figure it out, the woman stumbled inside, and I lurched forward to catch her as the bars slammed shut with a ferocious clang. Then the warriors I wished to kill stomped off, leaving me holding the woman.
I looked down to meet her questioning gaze, urges and instincts battering me relentlessly. I might not know her name, but my gut told me that I did know her, and the look in her eyes told me that she knew me. For some reason, her humanness made me wary, but I also knew without a doubt that I wanted her. Was she my mate? Did I already know the taste of her curvy, pink lips? Was this the reason it felt so natural to hold her in my arms? Was this why my heart thundered and my throat was tight?
There was only one way to know. I slid one arm around her waist and pulled her body flush to mine before crushing my mouth to hers.
Chapter
Seven
Skye
Something was off. Even though the light wasn’t great in the corridor outside the cell, Kolt looked different.
At least he’s alive, Skye. That creepy Zagrath said he took a blaster hit to the chest and hit the floor hard.
I scanned his body as the two Zagrath guards held me too tightly by the arms. A scorched splotch seared the skin on one side of his chest, but there was no gash or hole. I breathed a sigh that he’d been stunned and not killed.
He slowly raised his hands and took a step back, his movements slower than usual. Even his tail didn’t slash behind him like I would have expected after being ordered around by the Zagrath. Had he finally decided to appease them, or was this another ploy? I desperately hoped Kolt had no intention ofrushing the guards again. The last time hadn’t gone well for either of us.
“She’s all yours, Vandar.”
I didn’t have time to prepare before the cell door opened and I was shoved roughly inside. My feet got tangled in each other as I tried to stop myself from tripping and landing on my face, but Kolt darted forward and caught me by the arms.
My pulse jangled as I straightened, and I was grateful when the guards walked away so they wouldn’t see the flush of my cheeks. I didn’t know if it was being so close to the Vandar that made my heart race or the fact that I was supposed to be convincing him I was in love with him, but I was certain anyone within shouting distance could hear my erratic heartbeat.
I looked up, preparing to thank him for catching me and ask if he was okay, but the words got lost on the way from my brain to my lips.
