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Ryek and Holden stood, looking ready to step in, but Ulrek went one better, shoving his chair aside and marching over to the arguing pair.
“Take your hands off her, or I’ll remove them from your body,” Ulrek growled.
The idiot must have a death wish because he didn’t release Delaney. “What’s it to you,alien?” He made it sound like a dirty word. “This is a human affair. Now beat it!”
Ulrek grabbed him by the shirt collar and lifted him clean off the ground, which made him let go of Delaney. “She’s here with me.”
Technically, she was here with the whole group, but close enough. Ulrek shoved him against the wall, and a decoration hanging on it fell and broke.
“Charge that to theNew Horizon,” Ulrek said to the barkeep. Then he turned back to Delaney. “Give me your hand,” he said, taking the wrist the male had grabbed. He only touched her gently, but she flinched as the skin there was tender. The male was skulking away, until Ulrek grabbed him by the wrist and twisted hard; the male howled. “Now we’re even.”
The human cursed and swore behind him, but Ulrek ignored him. He wrapped an arm around Delaney protectively. She looked a bit shellshocked that he had done so, which he took as a good thing.
“Behind you!” Jillian yelled.
Ulrek had already sensed it coming; he ducked, moving Delaney out of harm’s way. The hurled tumbler smashed against the post behind them. It didn’t break, being made of tough stuff, but it did chip the finish on the post. He turned on the male, ready to remove his hand from his arm.
That glass could have hit Delaney! Ulrek had been hit with much worse, but Delaney was small and a lot more delicate than he was. A heavy tumbler thrown with force was enough to seriously hurt her. He felt the bloodlust rise in him, felt the adrenaline begin to pump through his veins.
Ryek stepped between them. “Captain Uzzar, let’s not make a scene while you’re here,” the director said smoothly, stressing his fake name.
Fuck. Ryek was right. The disguise wouldn’t hold up if he went into bloodlust and allowed his cheek creases to open and his fangs to elongate.
The director turned to the group of human males, some of whom looked as ready for a tussle as Ulrek did. “Delaney is with us. Think twice before you start a fight you cannot hope to win.”
“Oh shit, isn’t that the director?” one of the asshole’s friends whispered.
Craig scowled. “You can’t hide behind your friends all the time, Lana. This isn’t over.”
The group left, deciding to find another place for drinks, as Ulrek took Delaney back to their table.
Chapter 6
Delaney
Delaney tried to slow the pounding in her chest as Ulrek walked her back to their table.
She’d never stood up to Craig before, but knowing that her friends were there to watch her back, not to mention Ulrek the Horrible and his crew, she’d found the courage. It had felt amazing! Just as she’d expected. What she hadn’t expected was for Ulrek almost to go into bloodlust while protecting her.
Some Talleans went into a kind of half-shift when they fought. As it was, they already looked like predators, with the giant claws on their feet that stuck out the front of their shoes. But when they went into this altered state, the crease in their cheeks opened, their jaws unhinged completely, and their fangs grew longer and larger.
Many who experienced it called it bloodlust because of the way they felt when this happened to them. They were stronger, their senses more acute, and they had an insatiable craving for violence and sex—in that order.
After her initial fear of the Talleans had worn off, Delaney had started to find it super sexy. She’d witnessed it a few times when Reka 5 guards had faced off against packs of dragus, the wild beasts that sometimes made it through the colony walls. She’d secretly daydreamed that one of them would scoop her up into his arms after the fight for a thorough ravishing. The guard, that is, not one of the dragus.
She’d always been drawn to strong men; it had been one of the reasons she’d picked Craig in the first place. Too bad so many men who were tough were also controlling ass-wipes.
“Thisis your male?” Holden asked, a look of disgust on his face. “He is unworthy of you.”
Delaney sighed. “Ex-male. I’ve applied to have our marriage annulled.”
“I will get the matter expedited,” Holden said.
“Thank you, that’s kind. But don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
Ryek and Holden had a colony to run. Sure, they had help from the council now, but Delaney didn’t want them wasting their time on her problems. Craig had squandered enough ofhertime as it was.
She grabbed the first drink she could lay her hands on, which happened to be Ulrek’s Rhean spirit. Oh well. Too bad, so sad, it was hers now. She downed what was left of it in one big, long gulp.
