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The Pecket roared and threw her to the side.

Another guy grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off her feet, one hand sliding up to grab her around the throat.

The air was cut off as Eden dangled in the air.

Suddenly, there was a blur of gray fur flying toward her. Nipper was hurtling through the air, his teeth exposed and his claws out.

A howl of screeching rage filled the air as Nipper landed on the Pecket who was strangling her.

The Pecket yelled, and he dropped Eden, giving her a chance to breathe.

She turned, and her jaw dropped. Nipper was biting down on the alien’s face, chewing on it like his new favorite treat.

“Get it off me! Get it off me!” The Pecket tugged at Nipper, but he held on tight.

Nipper sprung away and jumped on the head of another Pecket, snarling and biting down again.

“The fucking thing is rabid. Somebody shoot it.” The Pecket under attack flapped his arms around.

Eden smashed a gun out of another Pecket’s hand as he aimed at Nipper. “Don’t you dare shoot him.” Her gaze shot to Nipper. He was an awesome fighter. He kept leaping from alien to alien, avoiding their attempts to capture him. And he was leaving behind an impressive set of bite and gouge marks.

Everywhere she looked, there was confusion and chaos.

“Human, while the rest of those idiots are focused on that thing, I can have you all to myself.” Olark loomed beside her, his mouth open.

Eden ducked under his arm and dodged around him.

He grabbed her and spun her around then grasped her throat and squeezed so hard her bones protested. “You’d probably prefer to be unconscious when I start to feed. I always take my time with my meals.”

Eden scratched down his hand as he choked the life out of her.

There was a high-pitched, pain-filled shriek from the other side of the room.

Eden jerked around, and her heart plummeted. They’d caught Nipper.

A Pecket flung him into the corner of the room, where he lay in a broken, crumpled heap.

Eden suppressed a sob, pain lancing into her heart. He’d been trying to help her, and they’d just killed him.

She snarled at Olark and slashed her nails across his face, leaving a row of bleeding gashes.

“Somebody help me restrain this bitch,” he said. “I need to teach her a lesson.”

Eden kicked out, landing blows on anyone who came too close, but she was running out of energy, and her adrenaline would only keep her going for so long. She couldn’t take them all down, but she’d make sure they remembered her. When they were done with her, she’d be dead, but the fight would be worth it. They’d think twice about taking a Human after meeting her.

Eden’s blows lost strength as black dots appeared in her vision. Dammit! She was out of air, and her throat was burning.

A fist struck her from behind, and she fell to her knees as Olark dropped her.

An amber light flashed on one wall. “Intruder alert. Unidentified personnel on board the ship.”

The Peckets around her stiffened.

The boss leading this group of idiots appeared. “That Apexian asshole has snuck onto our ship. I knew we hadn’t shaken him loose. Send a search and retrieval party.” His gaze narrowed on Eden. “Someone’s come to save you. Now, we’ll have two prizes to sell at auction.”

Eden’s pulse took a good, hard leap. Blaze was here?

“Put this one in a cage with the rest of the animals. We’ll deal with her later.” He turned and strode away.