Page 16 of The Naga Outcast’s Unwanted Mate

Corin was already down on the other side by the time I got back onto the wall, using my backpack as a shield to fend off at least three spears thrown our way. They were not playing around, which meant the group of hunters chasing after us had been instructed by my mother to aim to kill the humans.

I didn’t worry about Reid this time, certain he’d make his own way down. Eye contact was enough with Corin to convey the plan and I picked up Vera and threw her down at him, certain he’d catch her. She screamed as she plummeted, then glared furiously at me once her feet were safely on the ground. I didn’t wait, just grabbed Cosima, and repeated the same thing.

The next spear thrown was aimed my way, landing in my shoulder when I was too slow to turn. Hissing in pain, I threw myself over the palisade, slowing my descent with one set of claws as I raked them through the rough bark on the outside of the wall. They would be up on that palisade behind us in seconds, we had to race for cover or we’d be dead.

Yanking the spear from my shoulder with no patience, I already had Vera up over my other shoulder. Then I caught a screaming Cosima and started racing for the woods up ahead. Corin and Reid were right behind me carrying the pilot. We were going to make it, the woods weren’t far.

Once I reached the treeline I zigzagged behind them, not bothering to hide my trail or to be quiet. The shouts of my former Clansmen made it clear they were following us and we only had a small head start. My burdens were slowing me down a little but I had some tricks that were going to help us get out of here.

Hitting the stream, Corin and I swerved into it, racing against the gentle water, Reid cursing behind us as he followed our lead. “Zathar! Damn it, you are bleeding!” my mate said near my ear where she hung over my shoulder. I was, but the wound wasn’t deep, and currently most of Cosima’s weight was on it which stemmed the flow. The female that leaked from her eyes so much was quiet again, just panting in fear. Like Vera, she could see behind us, see how close the hunters were on our tail.

“It’s nothing. Can you still see them?” If they could, we’d have to make sure they lost sight of us in the warren of trees up ahead, it was a thick overgrowth that limited movement and sight. It would slow us down but we’d make sure to make some strange twists and turns to confuse and misdirect, and then we’d head for the Ancestor Caves and make our escape.

“Yes, but they seem to be slowing down. I think that Naga that came to the caves first is in the lead…” Vera told me and I drew in a relieved breath. Khawla was the best scout and tracker there was, but I had the sense that he wouldn’t actually want to hurt the humans or me. He’d let us escape.

The thicket loomed to our left and Corin and I dashed inside it. Now it was just a matter of keeping track of our own location and where we actually wanted to go, without losing sight of one another. Corin and I had done this a million times, a game we loved to play as younglings. It came naturally to us to race through the dense growth. But our scales were tough, we weren’t bothered by the slap and brush of the branches that we passed. That wasn’t the case for Vera or Cosima. “Quiet, Cosima! We need to shake them and hide,” my mate urged the other female when she yelped in pain.

Doubling down on my speed, my breathing rapid from the exertion, Corin and I flew through the thicket. I was once again impressed with how Reid kept up, his legs much longer than my mate’s as he pelted across the forest floor without fear. His breathing the loudest noise, sounding like an angry Vakarsa bull ready to charge.

Breaking free from the trees, the mountains were to our left and we turned in that direction. Slowing down our pace we made sure to cover our tracks and make our passage quieter. “I think we’re in the clear,” Vera whispered. I thought so too, but none of us spoke as we made our way back to our temporary hideout.

After we’d crossed a few miles I paused to let the females down so they could walk, and Corin briefly lifted his healing device to my wound to patch me up. Vera hovered at my side the entire time he worked, and then she held my hand as we resumed our trek. I felt elated, even if I was tired and sore. We’d escaped, my mate was unharmed, and she was holding my hand like she didn’t want to be separated.

I was really starting to believe that we’d made it when the trees started to open up and the Ancestor’s cave loomed in the distance. Then I spotted the female Naga and the handful of males with her and my heart sank; Astrexa.

Chapter 11

Vera

I was exhausted from that frantic escape from Zathar’s village. I was pretty sure it was starting to near dawn because pink was coloring the sky faintly back in the direction we’d come from. Which meant we’d gone the entire night without rest. My arms were sore from how hard I’d worked at chipping at that back wall, cutting branch after branch without breaking through entirely. Reid had done most of the work but he and I had alternated whenever he needed a break, and I was definitely not used to that kind of workout.

My legs were tired too from walking, which felt stupid because Cosima and I hadn’t walked nearly as far as the guys. Zathar had carried both of us while injured for miles on end and at breakneck speeds, I was pretty sure he was some kind of superhero at this point. But he wasn’t invincible, and the blood that painted Cosima’s shirt red was evidence of that, even if Corin had used his device to heal him.

I recognized the mountain with the giant, carved gate into the rocky face. We were nearly back to the place where Zathar and Corin had been living when they found us. I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a safe place though because they knew we’d stayed here before. What if they just came back and captured us again?

The thought had only just crossed my mind when Zathar froze in place and started cursing. It took me only a second to figure out why. The silhouettes of several Naga were emerging from the trees up ahead. They had intercepted our path and were lying in wait.

“Corin, take the humans. I will keep them busy and then follow you. We’ll meet up at the other side, yeah?” Zathar said grimly. His fingers started to release from around mine, and I knew he was about to push me away while he was going to do something heroic. He dropped his huge backpack at his side, his eyes fixated on the Naga female in the lead.

“Reid, Cosima, go with Corin,” I said, “He’ll take you to safety.” Cosima quickly squeezed my shoulder and then darted away but Reid paused at my side while watching the Naga with me. There were six of them, far too many for Zathar to fight on his own. Although I was unsure if the female in the lead was actually going to get involved in the scuffle or just watch it.

“You are staying? Careful Vera, they look like they mean business. Good luck.” He risked a glare from Zathar to draw me into a quick hug and then he jogged after the already disappearing Corin and Cosima, the pilot draped over the pale blue Naga’s shoulder.

I swallowed away my nerves as the Naga approached us and like a pack of bullies started to spread out to circle around. I dipped down, grabbing rocks from the ground as an improvised weapon. Then I stayed crouched low, near the end of Zathar’s tail, and carefully pressed my fingers to his scales so I could understand the hissing and growling words they were exchanging.

“You should give up, Zathar,” the female said. “You can’t possibly fight all of us.” She was a Naga with long black hair and the darkest blue scales I’d seen so far. They sharply contrasted with the nearly white spots that covered her, patterned much like a python. She was beautiful, with her sharp face and her slanted eyes, her body slender and athletic in a way I could never be. The scars that crossed her arms, chest, and bared belly told me that she loved to fight. I might have even seen her in action back in the village during one of my spying forays.

Zathar’s posture seemed to indicate he was relaxed but I could see him gently work his previously injured shoulder. “Oh yeah? Shall we find out?” Zathar taunted, “Because unless you suddenly discover some compassion and let us go, that’s the only way this is going to end.”

My eyebrows shot up. Woah, he really didn’t think highly of that lady, did he? If the situation weren’t so dire I might feel relieved that she was no competition. Her next words made my heart drop into my shoes, shock, and worry filling me all over again. “You are to be my mate, Zathar. I’m not letting you get away!” the female Naga hissed. With a gesture of her hand, the five males with her started approaching us again.

Zathar just laughed, and then he was moving, his body coiling forward fast as a whip. I lost contact with his tail, but it seemed like nobody was paying any attention to me and they weren’t talking now. I backed away, my rocks cradled against my chest as I watched for an opening.

They weren’t fighting with weapons, at least not with blades or spears. The claws that tipped their fingers were razor sharp and they were definitely slashing with those. In seconds, the scent of blood filled the air and I saw more than a few drops spray the dirt beneath their rapidly coiling bodies.

They were swapping in and out, trying to wear Zathar down turn after turn. So I raised my arm with the biggest rock I had and aimed for the back of the head of one of them. I’d always had good aim, and though this was a rather unwieldy projectile, it wasn’t far. With a thump it hit the big male on the crown of his shiny blue hair, his head whipping to the side from the blow. I cheered, but when he spun around to glare at me my smile dropped. Oh no, now what?

The male was quick on that long tail, gliding through along the forest floor unhindered while I stumbled over a tree root and then managed to get smacked in the face by a branch. But hey, with him chasing me, I was evening out the odds for Zathar.