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I lifted my head and that’s when I realized that I was naked. On display. What looked like hundreds of human women watched from the audience, Vakarrans lining the aisles. Holy shit. This was bad.
In the center, a group of five of them was walking toward me. Immediately, I recognized my four captors, along with one strange Vakarran male who I hadn’t seen before.
I met Taraik’s eyes first, and the restrained hurt, betrayal, and fear there broke my heart. I wanted to scream that it wasn’t what he thought, that I had needed to warn my sister, that she had to run, that I had to keep her s
afe. I wanted to tell them that I hadn’t wanted to leave them, that I hadn’t had a choice. I wanted to tell them everything.
Zac looked pissed. His angry eyes met mine and flickered back toward the stranger in front, like he wanted to kill him.
Xandaar looked incredibly guarded. He met my eyes and just shook his head, his sadness and disappointment obvious in his stance.
Roan’s eyes were calm.
I wanted to scream. I was terrified.
My gaze finally settled on the only one I didn’t recognize. It didn’t take long for me to conclude that he was the feared Commander Nix. The women on either side of the aisle shrank away. Apparently, his reputation preceded him. My lips rolled up in a sneer. Fucking asshole.
His grin widened when he saw my face. His teeth were a grayish white color, darkened with plaque in between each tooth. His lips were darker, almost black, giving him a sinister expression regardless of whether or not he was smiling. His eyes reminded me of a black hole, with a slight copper tone that flashed with danger.
He was big, tall just like most Vakarrans I’d seen, but I knew his chest wasn’t hard with muscles like my Vakarrans were. He looked thick and well-fed, overweight for a Vakarran. His horns were slightly different than Roan’s or the others, in that they were round like a ram’s, but pointed at the center like a bull’s.
His demeanor screamed danger and it made me nervous, but I didn’t show it. I couldn’t let him know that he was getting to me, even before he had even said a word.
The five of them climbed the stairs and Nix moved in front of me, his smirk growing by the second. He reached for my cheek, brushing his dark purple-colored fingers against my cheek. I recoiled in disgust, and his grin widened even further.
“I’d recognize those features anywhere. You’re a Stryke girl,” he murmured.
I wanted to spit in his face.
Instead, he chuckled cruelly and went to turn away from me, but then he backhanded me hard across the face. My lower lip split and my cheek throbbed, and my four captors froze for a long moment. Zac looked like he was three seconds away from murder with Taraik right beside him. Even Roan allowed a flash of anger to quickly appear, before he forced it away. All four of them were unable to hide the tenseness in their body language, but Nix was so consumed with himself that he didn’t seem to notice. I watched, my cheek throbbing, as Nix lifted his chest and appraised the crowd, clearly high on his sense of power.
“Good evening, all. Ladies. Gents.” He paused, looking back at me. “Today, I bring you a surprise. This woman bound naked before you has evaded capture for years. It is also obvious that she is clearly related to the infamous Kira Stryke,” Nix began, and I scowled in his direction. He turned back toward me, grabbing my chin harshly and forcing my gaze up to him.
“And what’s your name?” he asked, his fingers squeezing tighter and tighter, his sharp nails pressing into my skin. It felt like he was seconds away from cutting me.
I refused to answer, and his eyes narrowed with fury. He didn’t like to be disobeyed.
His other hand wound around my left breast, squeezing hard and pinching at my sensitive flesh. I whimpered softly. There was nothing I could do. I couldn’t escape, my wrists were bound, and I was surrounded by Vakarrans, ready to take me down, probably even kill me with a single order. And here I was, at the mercy of their leader. I had no choice but to do what he said.
His face was so close to mine, I could smell the whiskey on his breath, could feel his joy at my pain. Painful memories of the past flashed before my eyes and I struggled to push them away.
Kaze.
Neil. His men and their hands on my body, forcing me down and spreading my legs.
The darkness threatened the edges of my sanity and I cried out, trying to push them away.
“Name, human. Now,” Nix demanded.
I met Taraik’s eyes first, then Roan’s, Xandaar’s, and Zac’s.
In that moment, I wished them goodbye. I knew what was going to happen next. I knew Nix would hurt me, that he might even kill me. I knew my life as I knew it was now over. I let go of any hopes and dreams I had left.
“Danika Stryke,” I whispered, gathering whatever courage was left inside me in that moment. My men moved in, their concern growing by the second.
I’d resigned myself to my fate.
“Danika,” Nix purred, testing my name with his tongue.
