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I would manage no matter how exhausted and desperate I was.
Armed with a rock as a weapon—it was not ideal, but it was better than nothing—I limped into the wilderness, carefully following the trail Boran and his mount had broken.
I had no plan. I was exhausted, wounded, and at a dozen disadvantages. But I was still going to catch up to the caravan and free the others without this jungle eating me first.
The prospect scared me as much as my first parachute jump. But I was determined to try. There was no one else to help the women. And I owed Boran a serious ass-kicking before I killed him and his bosses and anyone else in my way.
I ran, my breath sawing in and out. The thick alien vegetation was like nothing I’d ever seen on Earth—vines as thick as pythons with razor edges that left blood trailing down my arms. Towering plants with leaves like shards of glass tore at my clothes. Flowers with dripping neon colors spat corrosive pollen if I dared brush them. Still, I pushed on through the dangerous, utterly foreign foliage.
Suddenly a vine covered in venomous barbs wrapped around my ankle, and I crashed hard to the alien ground with a cry. Pain lanced through my foot where it had caught on something sharp—probably the fanged maw of some plant lying in wait. I looked down to see dark blood welling from a deep gash. It must have been serrated thorns or actual teeth that caused the injury. I ripped a strip of fabric to bind the vicious wound, cursing at this fresh injury from the murderous vegetation. Still, it barely slowed me as I hauled myself up. I had to keep going, had to catch up to that caravan fast. There was no time to waste if I was going to save the others…
CHAPTER5
NAXER
The forest was quieter than usual, but I could hear some rustling out there in the dark now, coming from one direction. I lifted my head from staring into the fire, peered in that direction, but the firelight fouled my night vision. I unholstered my blaster and settled it on my thigh, staying calm but keeping focused just in case.
Chaser lifted his head and pricked his ears, whining curiously as he looked in that direction. To my surprise, his tail wagged slightly.
Is it another riding dog, maybe gotten loose from the slavers and gone wandering?
Or one of my packmates, come to say a last goodbye?
I sniffed, but the wind was blowing the wrong way for me to catch the newcomer’s scent.
As the intruder drew nearer, my experience as a tracker kicked in. I listened to the sounds, narrowing my eyes in focus. Smaller than my riding dog. Only two legs. Moving erratically, as if wounded, or drunk, or exhausted beyond the ability to do more than stagger but also carefully, as if worried they would blunder into something dangerous in the dark.
That didn’t sound like a threat to me. As a silhouette appeared between the trees, Chaser’s tail started thumping. I kept my blaster lowered.
My eyes widened as the figure moved close enough for me to make out a definite shape. Two arms, a curvy figure, long curly hair. A female Earthling.
My eyes widened, and I stood slowly, blaster still hanging at my side.An unaccompanied Earthling?She must have escaped.
Then she staggered into my circle of firelight, and my suspicion became certainty.
Yes, a female Earthling.
A beautiful one.
Her hair was blue-black, her smooth skin was deep brown, and her large, dark eyes were like bottomless pools. She was the perfect mix of muscular and curvy, and even battered and dull-eyed from exhaustion she was still beautiful. The female moved with purpose and took my breath away.
My Wulfaen dwells within my species—and mine had gone still at the sight of her.
Chaser squirmed with excitement, and I grabbed his harness to keep him from running up to our visitor. “Calm down, old boy.” Then I moved past him, toward the woman, who was leaning heavily on a cloakleaf tree. “Are you all right?”
Her eyes widened as she took me in, and I hastily holstered the blaster and snapped the holster’s peace-strap across it. I moved closer to her, concern overriding my curiosity. Her legs were shaking. Blood stained the thin material of her shoes.
She hesitated but then set her jaw and took a step toward me. It was the last one she managed. Her knees buckled and she toppled, looking startled by her exhausted body’s betrayal. I lunged forward and caught her in my arms.
Skin contact sent a jolt like lightning through me. My breath caught in my throat. A miracle. The Omthryx—gods—themselves had saved me.
It’s her. My Sheleki.
Scooping her off her feet, I felt her shiver against me, her body wracked with tremors. Her eyelids were fluttering as she fought to keep conscious, but it was a losing battle. Her delicate scent filled my nostrils, and I started trembling.
I brought her chilled, shivering form back toward the fire, sitting down on my log again and holding her inside its small circle of warmth. My gaze kept running over her—her face, the full mounds of her breasts, the chipped, sparkly pale pink paint on her nails. She had a white ink mark of a flower on the top of her arm and gold-colored translators in her ears.
Tagah.She also had bruises and pain stick burns all over her.
