Odd Coupling (13 page)

“
Bethany!”

She couldn’t let her mind play such a
cruel trick on her. It wasn’t real. The hallucination called out
again, more frantic this time and much closer.

“
Bethany!”

“
Here,” she croaked,
answering her delusion as best as she could.

“
Bethany?” The voice
tormented her, adding to her pain and misery. “Bethany!”

Heavy footsteps pounded in her
direction. A pair of strong, muscular arms lifted her to cradle her
gently against a familiar warm chest. Smooth lips tenderly grazed
her forehead. They trailed down her cheek and nuzzled into her
neck.

“
You’re injured and
bleeding. Who did this?” Vren’s voice sounded soothing and
threatening all at the same time. He easily coaxed the information
from her.

“
Caleb went crazy when he
couldn’t find you,” she said. “He hit me and torched my
house.”

“
I’m sorry, Bethany. I had
no idea human males were capable of such violence against females.
You’re safe now.”

“
I thought you were gone.”
Bethany couldn’t keep a trace of accusation from slipping into her
statement.

“
So did I, but some of the
Taurans refused to leave. They forced Morshant to order the shuttle
to fly over your home in order to convince the men we’d left the
surface. It worked. We were able to sneak back undetected.” He
kissed the side of her neck and groaned. “Please forgive me,
Bethany. I should have stayed to protect you. I’ll find and kill
the male who hurt you.”

“
Oh, please no, Vren. Don’t
go,” she pleaded and threw her arms around his neck, afraid if he
left her this time she’d never see him again.

He lifted his head to look at her. His
eyes glittered with a heated intensity, which rivaled the scorching
flames that devoured her home.

“
You’re mine, Bethany. I’ll
never abandon you again. We belong together, on my
ship.”

She was too shocked by his words to
speak. Instead, she pressed her cheek against the velvet warmth of
his chest, determined to enjoy her waking dream. It was so much
better than the nightmare surrounding her.

He kept her securely wrapped in his
embrace as he whipped around and walked toward a group of people.
At first, she could barely see them through the smoke. They were
gathered around a military-style helicopter emblazoned with
familiar letters—NASA. The closer they came the easier it was for
Bethany to see how the group was divided into two factions, NASA
versus the Taurans. The two sides argued, loudly. She felt and
heard the deep, threatening growl that vibrated within Vren’s
chest. It grew in volume the closer he approached. A woman’s voice
rose above the quarrel.

“
They only want to help
her! The human males are medics. They won’t hurt the woman. Put her
onto the stretcher so they can carry her inside the
helicopter.”

Two very deep voices responded. They
snarled and growled words in a bizarre language, which Bethany had
never heard uttered. She lifted her head to take a better look. It
was a shocking scene.

She immediately recognized the
shortest alien in the group. However, he stood behind two of the
largest, most muscular men Bethany had ever seen. One of them had
an unconscious Shelly cradled in his arms, and he seemed extremely
reluctant to hand her over. The other giant male stood partially in
front of them in a protective stance, and he leveled a fierce glare
at Caleb and several of his purist followers who were surrounded by
human men dressed in black uniforms. Shelly was half dressed and
roughed up. Her blouse was torn and her slacks were gone. Her silk
thong remained.

Oh, god.
Bethany’s first thought was that her friend had
been raped. She knew her concern was more than justified, but what
scared her most was the oversized alien’s muscular arm. He’d raised
it to point an accusing finger at Caleb. A shiny white blade jutted
out along the outside of his forearm and gleamed dangerously with
each angry gesture he made.

“
Who are they?” she asked,
instinctively clutching Vren’s hard chest, trying to grab on to
something. Her fingernails must have sunk in because he hissed
softly, but he didn’t complain in any other way.

“
They’re Taurans. Morshant
came to your home. The other two are the ones who convinced him we
shouldn’t leave. They’re warriors, and like me, they distrust the
human men, especially now. For my species, it’s unthinkable to
treat females the way your males do. Apparently, they feel the same
way. They don’t want them to tend to your friend.”

“
Oh,” Bethany
whispered.

They were close enough to the group
for her to see bloodstains on the edge of the warrior’s arm blade.
That fact alone would explain Shelly’s condition since her friend
fainted dead away at the sight of blood, her own or
others.

Vren halted a few steps away from the
woman who spoke and translated for the group. Bethany visually
inspected her friend. Other than a few cuts on her wrist, she
looked uninjured, at least the visible parts of her. The large male
who held her had her wrapped protectively within his enormous arms,
shielding her from anyone’s view. His intense coppery gaze was
filled with suspicion and trained on the men who were there to take
Shelly.

“
Is she okay? Do you think
Caleb’s men raped her?” Bethany whispered the question to Vren as
quietly as possible.

To her surprise, the alien warrior who
held Shelly tore his attention from the men and looked straight at
her. He growled viciously as he shook his head. The message was a
clear and very direct. No! Somehow, Bethany got the distinct
impression the barbaric-looking male had singlehandedly saved her
friend from that very situation.

Vren simply drew in a deep breath, and
said, “Your friend wasn’t violated.”

However, he did startle her with a
threatening growl. It was directed at the man holding Shelly. They
glared at each other for several tense seconds.

“
What’s going on?” the
woman in the group asked.

Vren ignored her. Instead, he spoke to
the Taurans in English. “Allow the medics to take her. She needs
their help to recover.”

The large warrior, who stood in front
of the one who held Shelly, turned his head to look back at his
counterpart. He snarled a few words, which sounded like orders.
Thankfully, his companion stepped forward and gently placed Shelly
onto the stretcher. He straightened, then reached out with one arm
and pointed at the two medics. A wickedly sharp blood-splattered
blade slid out of his forearm, and he growled out a string of
threatening-sounding words. The men paled, their white faces turned
toward their female interpreter, questioningly.

“
He said he’ll remove your
genitals and stuff them down your throats if any harm comes to this
female while she’s in your care.” The woman shrugged
apologetically.

The alien male nodded, apparently
agreeing with her interpretation, before he backed away.

Nice,
Bethany thought. She couldn’t agree more. She also realized
something else. The aliens could all understand what the humans
said. No wonder Vren could understand her, but when he spoke,
sometimes the words he used came out with an ambiguous meaning. She
wondered if they’d ever be able to communicate.

The woman spoke again. Curious,
Bethany listened as she assured the Taurans that there was no
reason for them to worry about the female. Also, she politely told
them to leave Earth as soon as possible before the news crew
arrived. Morshant seemed to agree wholeheartedly. He motioned for
Vren to follow.

“
A moment, Morshant,” Vren
said before he rushed to join the NASA team.

“
I’m Marisella Grainger,
temporary head of NASA’s biological division and lead xenobiologist
for the department, and this is Derek Johnson, our chief of
security.” She gestured to the large man standing beside her. He
nodded politely, but didn’t extend his hand. The woman continued to
stare at Vren, waiting for his reply.

“
Commander Vrenden, captain
of the
Explorer
. I
regret the trouble my presence has caused for you and your
personnel. Thank you for your help.”

Freaking commander of a
spaceship?

“
And this is…”

Reluctantly, Bethany shifted in his
arms. He bent slightly and let her slip out of his grasp. Pain and
dizziness washed over her, and she clung to his arm for balance.
Somehow, she managed to extend her right hand to the woman and they
exchanged a brief handshake

“
I’m Bethany Montgomery.
Thank you for rescuing us.”

“
I’m sorry we didn’t get to
you as soon as we would’ve liked, but I’m glad you’re both safe. We
have another crew at your front gate, Ms. Montgomery. They’ll
arrive shortly and pick up these local troublemakers.” She glanced
behind her at the prisoners. “There’s a special holding facility
for them at the spaceport.” She turned her head back around and
gave Vren a conspiring look.

He responded with a huffed
grunt.

“
Our medics can check your
injuries during our flight back,” Marisella said.

“
Commander, you’re welcome
to ride back with us,” Derek offered.

“
My orders are clear. I
must leave with the Taurans, but Bethany must come with me. She
isn’t safe here.”

The two NASA employees stared at her
and Vren in obvious surprise.

“
I want to go with him,”
Bethany added, and without a second thought, she slipped an arm
around his waist. In turn, he held her close for more than the
required few seconds that constituted a platonic hug.

“
Alien fucking whore!”
Caleb shouted the insult for all to hear.

Vren released her and growled as he
stepped away. Bethany whirled around to face Caleb.

What happened next was a blur in her
mind. Caleb broke away from the guards, and to everyone’s surprise,
he pulled a small revolver from one boot top and then raised the
weapon. Bethany watched in horror as he aimed it at her. In the
next instant, Vren grabbed her and twisted around to place his body
between her and the gun. Two shots fired in rapid sequence. He
jerked and his arms fell away from her. As she sank to the ground,
she heard a loud roar that seemed filled with rage and pain before
another shot rang out. It was followed by a strangled scream. She
looked behind her, scared to death for Vren and frantic to see if
he was hurt. An anguished scream burst from her throat.

He was sprawled on the ground, face
down and unmoving. His claws were extended and bloodied. Next to
him, Caleb was flat on his back. His body twitched uncontrollably.
He gripped his throat with one hand and his chest with the other.
Both wounds bled profusely. Blood pooled on the surrounding ground,
and its accompanying stench filled the air.

It took all her strength to scramble
across the space between her and Vren. She reached him before
anyone else. Her hands shook as she tentatively touched each of the
two circular wounds on his back. One bullet had entered near his
right shoulder. The other wound was lower and closer to his spine.
Thick dark red blood oozed from the openings. It stained his
beautifully striped skin. His eyes were closed. She bent to press
her ear against him to listen for a heartbeat, a breath, anything
to give her a tiny bit of hope that he was alive.
Nothing.

“
Vren, no! No, don’t die,”
she pleaded. He didn’t move.

He’d taken the bullets meant for her.
He’d saved her and now he was… Unaware of her surroundings and
uncaring if she was alone or not, Bethany broke down completely,
crying her heart out. He’d come back. He hadn’t walked out on her
at all, and he’d wanted to take her with him. He’d said they
belonged together. For one brief moment, her heart had dared to
soar, and she’d felt complete. Now he was gone, forever. She
glanced at the burning remains of her home. Everything she’d ever
loved was in ruins, much like her life.

Strong, forceful hands grabbed her.
Bethany fought them. Temporarily blinded by tears, she
instinctively lashed out at the man who tried to take her away from
Vren, but his grip only tightened around her waist.

The Tauran warrior easily lifted her.
She screamed and continued to struggle until he shifted his hold
and pinned her arms to her side. Bethany blinked back tears as she
watched the other one scoop Vren’s lifeless body off the ground. He
grunted from the effort, but easily carried him to Morshant. The
smaller Tauran male spoke a few clipped words to the warrior, who
then quickly carried his burden toward the waiting spacecraft.
Morshant rushed over and exchanged a few words with Ms.
Grainger.

While she made every attempt to keep
sight of Vren, Bethany struggled to escape from the giant who
easily restrained her. Once the other warrior entered the
spacecraft and she couldn’t see him anymore, she stopped
struggling. Overcome with grief, she sobbed, but even through her
tears she didn’t miss Marisella’s curious look.

Suddenly, Morshant yelled a
gruff-sounding order and pointed to the shuttle. To her complete
amazement, her captor immediately carried her to the ship. As soon
as they entered, the door shut behind them. Bethany tried to locate
Vren, but the warrior’s huge bulk completely blocked her view as he
placed her on a seat and then secured the seatbelt-like restraint
across her upper body. The alien craft shuddered as it took
off.