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He stood and reached into his pocket. Stooping down close to me, he pulled out a small tablet and waved it in front of my eyes. He was so close that I could bite his throat, but I knew where that screen came from, and the sight of it caused me pause.
It was my identification tablet. I was going to discard it. “They’ll kill you. They won’t give you shit in return for me.”
“Maybe,” he said, pacing. “Maybe, that’s not what I want.”
“You can’t have her,” I growled.
“I always take what I can’t have,” he said. “Just like you.”
The dance was over. I was caught. Caught by a measly fucking human. And yet, he had done a good job. Perhaps, I should have congratulated him.
“We are nothing alike,” I said.
He raised a brow. “You came for the girl, didn’t you?”
“I came because my ship ran out of fuel,” I protested.
It didn’t matter what I said. He wouldn’t believe my best intentions. I didn’t know there would be a suitable mate stationed in this dump. I had no idea who I’d meet down here.
He kicked my ribs and rolled me over, chains still holding and twisting my arms into the air. I panted and spat more blood. It was no use. I couldn’t keep my past from coming up, even if I tried. And every fucking time I thought about Mia’s unbridled beauty and innocence, the more I knew I couldn’t keep lying to her.
He was right. I was a bad man, a worse man than she thought. I had killed so many men during the Sankarian invasion, but I had my excuses.
“You’re a hunter,” he said. “I can see it in your eyes. You were born to kill.”
“As were you,” I muttered. “So, let’s get this over with. You said it earlier. Humans are destined to play out their trauma. It’s like a game to your kind, but each of you fails to recognize the real impact of your actions. I took advantage of your hospitality. Does that make me deserve death? Kill me then.”
“You saw her. You took her. You did whatever the hell you wanted. The way I see it, you’re an intruder. The manual has strict orders for intruders. Eradication by any means necessary,” he said, standing straight.
“I gave her what she wanted,” I said with a weak grin. He smacked it off my face and pulled on the lever of my chains, raising me higher into the air.
The shame was tough to handle. I was supposed to be better than this, but my sins were catching up to me. I saw Mia and the goodness she represented. She’d made me yearn to wear that pussy down, to give her a baby, and I lost track of what was at stake. I complicated things.
Yes, I had a fucking bounty over my head. So it went. I did what I had to do to the people who wanted to murder my race. I helped detonate bombs. We blew through the first wave of soldiers. I shot down their monoliths of war. And when we were shackled, I helped lead the rebellion.
We were their slaves, but I would kneel for no man.
It was a noble cause, but all noble causes come to an end.
When they came to eradicate us, our group had already started to fall apart. Tensions were high. Some of our most beloved had already taken their lives. They were our heroes and martyrs, but it didn’t feel like anything special. They killed themselves because they knew they’d be tortured, knew we’d all experience hell. The more who died, the more distant I became.
All hell broke loose. Detonations went off around the capitals, and, somehow, I found a way out. Our men and women, now a worldwide coalition of force, surrounded the city exits. No one would leave. No one would return.
It was my calling. One by one, like valiant soldiers, we held our formation, forming a wall around the capital. Our oppressors gave the count. Ten to one.
As I watched my brothers and sisters’ bodies explode, felt their hot blood splatter across my face, I went ballistic.
Fire warmed my body, but my heart was destroyed. Everyone was dead or dying, and I couldn’t focus on anything. Bombs shredding the ancient roads threw me back. My father... he grabbed my arm and told me to run.
I hesitated, but he pushed and ordered me to leave. I looked at my father for the last time and saw a noble warrior. He was a man who would sink with the ship, no matter what.
I retreated like a fucking coward.
I’d lied to Mia, but not in the way that Cade thought. She knew about the rebellion, about the blood I spilled. I lied to her when I said that I didn’t miss my family. I needed her more than she knew.
“The woman is mine,” I commanded.
Cade took another swig of whiskey before holding the emptied bottle up to the light. Clasping the handle, he broke it over my head. Glass sprayed everywhere. My skin cracked, spreading blood across my vision. This was torture.
