Hide to Stay Alive (Club Release 1) (8 page)

I doubt it’s going to look
good on me, but I don’t have any other options so I put it on. The
material is amazingly soft. Too soft for cargo pockets. I know I’m
going to miss those pants. Maybe I can get them back.

I run my hand over my leg.
This material is really nice. “I could wear this under my cargo
pants. Isn’t that right, Backpack?”

My gaze cuts to my right
where Backpack usually is. Tears well in my eyes when I see the
empty spot on the bed. I press my lips together and accept that
Backpack is gone for good. Gone but not forgotten.

I release a harsh breath.
Losing my faithful friend is just a part of life. Nothing and no
one lasts forever. “I just wasn’t quite ready to see you go,
Backpack.” My lips tremble. I know I have to move on. It’s just so
fucking hard.

The craft slows and my
stomach leaps to my throat. My heart starts to pound painfully.
What is going to happen to me now? In through the nose, out through
the mouth. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

A silent scream lodges in
my throat when I feel the spacecraft vibrate lightly as it sets
down on firm ground. With my hand pressed firmly against my
collarbones, I listen closely. I know they are coming to get me
soon. Will it be Pretty Eyes or will one of the other two men come
for me? I really don’t want to go anywhere with the other men. I
want Pretty Eyes. I know this is unreasonable but I can’t help the
way I feel.

I hear the light sound of
footfalls. I’m amazed at how quietly they walk. The males are at
least seven feet tall. They should sound like a herd of cattle. I
sit perfectly still as I wait to see who is coming.

The door opens and I
almost faint from relief. Pretty Eyes smiles at me. I ignore his
pearly fangs. No good can come from worrying about what he does
with them. He sniffs and his eyes start doing that light glowing
thing I like so much. He makes a sound that I believe is one of
approval.

Heat swamps my cheeks and
I look down. The sight of white material reminds me that this is
the first time he’s seen me clean. I bite my lip as I brush back a
strand of hair that has fallen across my cheek. My guts twist into
a tight knot. I’m not used to the feelings that are thrumming
through my pelvis. Lust this intense is so painfully new to
me.

I glance at his body and
then regret it when a fresh wave of desire pulses through me. This
is not a good time to be having these kinds of feelings. At this
point, I know nothing about him. What if I truly am his dinner? The
shower could have been a setup to make it easier for them to eat
me.

My heart starts to pound
for a totally different reason. Fear spears through my chest. My
gaze darts around for an exit. I look from him to the open door. If
I’m fast enough, I may be able to beat him to it. I shift on the
bed and prepare for my escape.

“
Calm yourself, seema. I’m
just here to take you to our clinic. Dr. ResTa is going to give you
a quick checkup and a shot to make sure you are healthy and stay
that way.”

A picture of a mad-alien
scientist probing humans pops into my mind. I shake my head and
inch further away from him.

Those beautiful teal and
silver eyes stop glowing and harden. “I’m not asking you to let him
give you a checkup. It’s planet policy and I agree wholeheartedly
with it. Stand and come to me, seema.”

I can’t just give myself
up to a mad-scientist. “I can’t do that.” My chest heaves as I
start to freak the fuck out.

His nostrils and vents
flare. Then his lips flatten as he watches me. “You can and you
will. Our doctor is good at what he does. He’s not going to hurt
you.” Pretty Eyes takes a deep breath and his eyes soften as if for
a moment he understands me.

I start badly when his
commanding voice cuts through the room. “Come, now,
seema.”

The growl in his tone has
me jumping from the bed and rushing to him. I nervously stand
before him hoping he doesn’t hit me. I close my eyes not wanting to
know what’s going to happen now. So far every alien I’ve been
around has been mean. My hands start to tremble, I fist them so he
won’t know he scares the crap out of me.

I nearly jump out of my
skin when I feel a large rough hand touch the top of my head. He
makes a soothing sound as his hand slides down to my neck. To my
shock, he pulls me in close to his body and hugs me. His arms
circle me in a strong warm embrace. Tears thicken my throat. How
long as it been since I’ve been hugged?

My mind rewinds. Ten
years. It’s been ten years!

One of his hands slides up
and starts caressing my hair. I sink deeper into his embrace. It
feels so good. His masculine scent fills my nose and burrows into
my soul. I don’t want this feeling to end.

I hear footfalls and
stiffen. The others are near. My heart starts beating faster. I
don’t want to be near the others. They haven’t been mean to me so
far. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean they will continue to be
nice. Movement in the doorway has me sinking even deeper into
Pretty Eyes arms.

He makes that comforting
sound again and I relax into him. Once again I hear footfalls. This
time they are moving away from us. I tentatively wrap my arms
around his lean waist. He continues to stroke my hair lulling me
into a deeper state of calm. One I haven’t known for a very long
time.

Part of me knows I
shouldn’t trust him yet.
Always go with
your gut instinct, Hallie. It’ll save
you
every time
. My father’s words float through
my mind. I take another deep breath of the male holding me so
tenderly and know I can trust him.

Unfortunately, all good
things must come to an end.

Pretty Eyes steps back.
His hand on my neck moves around and tilts my chin up. “Don’t be
afraid, little seema. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.
Seemas and live-sex-playthings are precious to us.”

I would like an exact
definition of what a seema and live-sex-plaything is. I only have a
vague idea. I’m on the verge of asking him when his free hand moves
to his pocket. He holds up a pair of cuffs. My heartbeat picks up
its pace.

“
Don’t get nervous, little
one. This is merely a precaution.” Before I can freak out, I feel
cool metal hit my wrist. A split second later, I hear the metal
thud against his wrist.

My eyes widen in shock as
I see that we are bound together with some kind of cuffs I’ve never
seen before. How the hell did that metal open and conform to me in
such a fast way? I look the cuff over. My brows lower as I scan for
a clasp. Try as I might, I can’t find one.

A soft chuckle comes from
his chest. “These are made from a special metal on a planet we
visit regularly. The metal is strong and can only be manipulated by
its owner.”

Dumbly, I say, “You’re the
owner?”

He chuckles again. “Yes.”
A second later, his eyes harden. “I have no problem using these
cuffs on you anytime I need to. I’m a dominant and I expect you to
follow my commands at all times. Later, I’ll tell you what your
duties are. Right now, we are going to see Dr. ResTa.”

CHAPTER

10

~ Hallie ~

♥

In stunned silence, I
follow Pretty Eyes.

It’s not like I have much
of a choice. We are cuffed together by some metal I’ve never seen
before. I’m starting to feel quite ignorant. I guess compared to
him, I am. That thought makes me feel low. I don’t want to be the
dumbest person on the planet.

You’d kick his ass if you
were in the woods on Earth
, my logical side
informs me in a pride filled tone. I smile and appreciate the moral
support. As I look around the hall of the craft, I have a feeling
I’m going to need a lot of moral support.

As we exit the spacecraft
I see a lot of zaphinians hanging around the spaceport. A glance to
the side has me stumbling. I see a being that is not a zaphinian. I
remember the other beings hanging out around the platform I was
sold from. A shudder races up my spine. Alarm starts to rise in my
chest. Do any of them eat humans? Are they hungry?

Pretty Eyes wraps his arm
around me. He greets a few people but doesn’t stop walking. It
takes me a second to realize that he isn’t speaking English. I
don’t know what’s going on, I don’t understand what people are
saying. Panic claws its way up my throat. I silently
scream.

What if I’m being brought
to another sell-block to be sold? I don’t want to be sold again. An
unrecognizable part of my brain whispers,
He won’t do that to you
.

Trust your gut,
Hallie
. The remembrance of my father’s
advice calms me somewhat. All of the tall beings around me start
getting my mind working in another direction. What if someone here
attacks him? What if I need to run and hide to stay
alive?

I tug on my cuffed arm. He
looks down at me and shakes his head. His pretty eyes have a
determined gleam to them. I don’t like it. My heart aches as I
admit temporary defeat. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. My
gaze darts around looking for any threat.

Fear has my mind racing. I
wonder if I can cut my hand off or break the bones in my hand to
get away if he goes down. I look up and down his massive muscular
frame. There’s no way I’m going to be able to drag his heavy ass
anywhere. Nope, there’s no way I can get us both into a safe hiding
place if we are chased and he gets hurt.

As big as he is any enemy
would go for him first. I can’t save both of us. Why did I have to
be taken by a big ass warrior looking being? Why couldn’t I have
been bought by a four foot tall weak alien?

“
Calm yourself, seema.
We’re among friends. Nobody will hurt you.” His arm pulls me in
closer to him.

As I breathe his scent in,
I believe him. He leads me down a corridor and into a large room.
We move through it and into another room— a scarier room. Fuck! His
very presence distracts me in unacceptable ways. I just let him
lead me to a mad-scientist to be probed. I didn’t even give him
much trouble. Like a lamb calmly going to slaughter.
Hallie Mead, you deserve to die.
Depression is soon eclipsed by
determination.

No, I’m not going to let
them probe me.

My gaze darts around the
room looking for an escape route. There has to be a way out of
here. With my training, I’ll find it. Black and silver devices
stand out against the white walls and floor. I don’t know what they
use all of these things for and truthfully I don’t want to
know.

Not letting the strange
equipment distract me this time, I take a step away from Pretty
Eyes and look around for doors. My heart sinks when I see three of
them. Which one leads to a good hiding place? I wish I could have
studied the zaphinians comings and goings from afar for at least a
few days before being brought here. If I knew the lay of the land,
I’d have a better chance of surviving.

“
Calm yourself, little
seema. You are safe.”

His commanding tone snaps
my gaze up to his. I only see honesty in his eyes. That makes me
feel better until I realize that this is not his domain. As far as
I know, Pretty Eyes may not even know that the supposedly good
doctor is really a mad-scientist. Being naive has gotten many
people killed. I don’t plan on being one of them.

I jump when the door
behind me suddenly opens. Whipping my gaze around, I see a massive
male standing just inside the room. His green eyes are zeroed in on
me. I step closer to Pretty Eyes.

Green Eyes is even bigger
than the male I’m cuffed to. I really wish I wasn’t cuffed to him.
One of the rules of survival is to always stand on your own two
feet. This rule is non-negotiable when on flat ground. Rapidly
moving water and cliffs are a different story.

I frown at the metal
surrounding my wrist and rub it hoping I can solve its puzzle and
make it drop away.

A chuckle comes from my
captor. He’s no longer Pretty Eyes to me. I look up into his
three-tone eyes and hesitate. Okay, he’s no longer Pretty Eyes—for
the moment.
Get a grip, Hallie
Mead
. He brought you to a
mad-scientist.

I glance over at the
mad-scientist. The guy doesn’t look mad but what do I know about
zaphinians? I rub the smooth metal harder as I try to break free.
The need to get out of here coils tighter in my gut. Remembering
the strange metal only responds to its owner, I put the cuff close
to my lips and whisper, “I’m your owner now. Open up.” My words are
low enough that Pretty Eyes, no—my captor—shouldn’t be able to hear
them.