Pradorian Mate (9 page)

Dar simply saluted his leader with a hand on his chest and joined him in tracking the girls.

Dar and Archail were soon hot on their trail, moving rapidly through the forest with a speed and agility not unlike a cheetah’s. “What would you have us do when we reach them, my Vasil?”

Archail’s stiff but lithe frame easily dodged trees, avoided roots and fallen branches, and passed over the ground so lightly he barely left any prints. His eyes squinted against the oncoming wind. “I first want to know why they ran away again.”

His companion grinned. “Your mate is very spirited, a fine match for a Pradorian. Now if she can be made to stand still for more than a few moments…” Dar’s comment was met with a low growl from Archail, signaling for him to quit while he was ahead. Dar complied, but he maintained his wry grin.

Chapter 7

Huff after puff of air escaped from the women’s lungs as they ran. They ran until their insides burned and their legs wobbled unsteadily, like toddlers exhausted after trying their first steps. Orora raised a hand, looking as if she was ready to collapse. “I can’t keep this up any longer. Let’s rest here. We’re far enough away now that it’d take someone a while to catch up, assuming anyone is even looking yet.”

Sara’s eyebrows rose, looking still as defiant as when they left the lake, when she turned to gaze at her friend. “We can’t stop now! If they’ve noticed we’re gone, they’ll have started looking for us, and you know they run much faster than we do. We have to hurry and find a place to hide before nightfall.”

“But it’s barely midday. How are we going to keep this up all day? I can barely feel my legs now.” Orora sank to the ground.

Sara moved to grab Orora’s arm. “We can’t stop now. Come on, let’s at least walk. There must be a hollow tree we can hide in around here.” Sara looked around while supporting her friend with one arm around her shoulders. After a moment, Sara pointed to a rock formation that looked fairly small from their location. “Look! Those rocks…they could hide us while we rest, but we’ll have to move again. We can’t stay in one place for too long or they’ll find us.” She grunted as she practically carried Orora toward the rocks.

Sara judged the rocks must be some distance away. How would she get there before nightfall while carrying Orora? Sara looked around again for anything else that could hide them while they rested. She saw nothing other than fallen tree limbs and the leaf-covered forest floor. Her sight lingered on the leaves. What if she covered both of them with leaves? She reckoned that would mask their scent, but her mood was dampened when she considered that two long mounds of leaves would look suspicious. She had nothing to dig a hole with, and even if she did find something to use, it would take too long.

Sara cursed, then looked up. They could climb the trees, but there weren’t many branches to use as footholds until a good fifteen feet up. There was no way they could reach that. Even if Orora stood on her shoulders, she’d still need to find somewhere to hide herself, but maybe she could at least help Orora survive. There was still the question of how she would get off the planet. Sara was certain the Restorian ship must have left by now. She had to try something, but from what she knew of Orora, she couldn’t leave her. She just couldn’t.

Sara was so wrapped up in her thoughts she barely even noticed when the forest first went silent. There was no sound anywhere. Even the air stood still. Sara’s foot caught on an exposed tree root, causing her to trip. She gasped. Both women hit the ground with a loud thud. The grass beneath her felt pleasantly cool against her hot tired body, and she wanted to lay there, even if it was just for a few more minutes, but the logical part of her brain kicked in and pushed her to get up. As Sara started to push herself up with her hands, two familiar-looking blue and black feet came into view. Her head whipped up suddenly, bringing Archail’s slick, muscular frame into full view.

“
Where are you going?” His thick voice enunciated every word while his arms crossed over his bulging chest.

He didn’t look pleased to see Sara, but then again, when did he? Although, there
were
times when he actually seemed to have her well-being at heart, and she had seen him smile once, maybe even twice. 

“
We won’t stay here! I refuse, and I’ll keep running away until you get fed up with it and let me go, so you might as well let us go now!” she screamed at the alien.

“
You’re not going anywhere.” Another voice from behind her nearly startled her out of her skin. The new voice affected Orora, who jerked behind Sara reacting to the masculine sound. Sara looked back instinctively to her friend. Orora ogled the man, the blood draining from her face. She stared wildly in different directions, searching for an escape route. She gasped, realizing there was nowhere to go. Her hand rose mechanically to her mouth and a choking sound slipped from her lips.

Sara pushed herself in front of her friend and backed them both away until Orora suddenly stopped. It seemed they had hit a tree. They could go no farther for now. Sara stopped and prepared to stand her ground, so to speak, seeing as they were sitting.

Archail tilted his head curiously to the side. He blinked. “Why did you run?” He stood there peacefully. None of his body language or the look in his eyes seemed malicious or angry. He seemed merely
curious.
Dar on the other hand seemed shifted his weight from one leg to the other and rubbed the back of his neck showing obvious signs of irritation and impatience.

Sara opened her mouth ready to speak, but her voice came out somewhat broken, so she swallowed a deep breath and tried again. “I will not stand by and let you slaughter us like animals. You have no right to take our lives, these new lives we’ve been given. We just arrived on this planet, and you’re already talking about killing us? What kind of people are you?” She’d never spoken positively about being brought back to life until now. She really did have a new life, Even if it was on this strange, accursed planet. And even though she had welcomed death back on Earth, her survival instincts had obviously been restored with her youth. “What?” Sara asked.

Dar scratched his cheek seeming absentminded, looking very confused and even more irritated than before.

Archail rubbed his chin for a moment, looking equally confused. “Where did you get this idea?”

Orora finally spoke up in a small, frightened voice from behind Sara. “I-I heard you! Y-you said you’d kill us, Dar. You spoke with another man about the women before us who died because of th-that injection!”

Archail and Dar gazed at each other. The Vasil pressed his lips tight, looking very disappointed. His subordinate immediately went on the defensive. “I told her nothing. Of this I am certain. I was going to explain a few things today, but she disappeared before I could even begin. You were going to do the same, were you not?”

“I was, but if you did not tell her, then who did? Did someone impersonate you and your voice?” Archail asked accusingly.

“
No! I heard it straight from him and another while I was pretending to be unconscious on the ground!” stated Orora fiercely, her courage increasing as she continued to speak from behind Sara’s shoulder. “I heard them talking. They thought I was still unconscious. It’s true! You were going to kill us!”

“
Enough!” Archail’s voice boomed out, scaring the nearby wildlife enough to flee before the forest once again went quiet. Orora hid behind Sara once more as Sara puffed out her chest, her protective instincts not letting up. “All you need to know for now.” Archail paused shaking his head thoughtfully, as he stared the women down emphasizing each word he spoke, sounding a little calmer than a moment ago. “Is that you will not be killed by anyone. You have my word on that.”

Sara still looked at him suspiciously, but she didn’t move when he came closer and extended his big, long hand to her, offering to help her up. She looked at it for what seemed a long time, before turning her gaze to his. “And you expect us to just take your word on that?” she spat out.

“I expect you to do as you are told, or there will be consequences.” There was a threatening promise in his words that seemed directed at her alone. He turned to Dar and exchanged a silent glance that looked like an unspoken warning. “Take them back. I will follow shortly.”

Dar nodded and moved toward the women, but Sara quickly rose. Orora rose with her, staying close by her side, but her eyes followed Dar as they walked. She kept her gaze on him, and Sara wasn’t sure if Orora was glancing with worry or attraction. She considered if Dar had seduced her or made false promises like Archail.
Was Archail really telling the truth?
Sara wondered silently as her feet automatically reacted to changes in the path they walked. If any fallen branches blocked the way, she stepped over them. If there was a tree trunk or large rock, she’d step around it. The same went for any stream or rock they encountered.

Time slowed for Sara as her mind wandered into uncharted territory. She’d never been in a situation like this before.
What was she supposed to do? What was going to happen to them, and could she resist it? Did they have any choice whatsoever in what would happen here?

“
Sara.” Orora placed a small hand on Sara’s shoulder, bringing her thoughts back to reality. “We’re back.”

Sara looked around, soaking in the sudden change, before turning toward Orora. A large blue hand closed over Orora’s shoulder and startled the young woman. Sara’s hand instinctively gripped Orora’s wrist as her eyes met Dar’s.

Dar simply stared back, in cold indifference, with Sara’s quiet protective instincts. “I need not remind you that Orora is mine. Archail has already told you to obey, and it would be best for you not to cross him,” proclaimed Dar, his voice clean and clear.

Sara’s auburn hair splayed out as she shook her head and refused to let go. “I don’t care. I still don’t trust you.”

One of his brows rose, and the next words he spoke were in a low warning tone, yet unexpectedly sincere. “You will not disrespect me. Archail has told you everything you need to know at this time, and he has not lied.” Dar’s eyes still had something behind them, something left unsaid.  She didn’t get a chance to question him, because he took Orora away without another word and quietly made his way toward the rock wall.

Sara’s thoughts once again troubled her as she
walked back to the lake clearing. She was forced to forget about Orora for now, but her friend’s words still echoed in her mind.

Why did those women before die? What did Archail mean when he said, ‘to be united by blood,’ when the human women and Pradorian males were lined up earlier that day?
She then recalled the women’s expressions when they assembled before Archail that morning.
What had happened to them? Were they forced to do something horrible?

Why is this ceremony mentioned so often, and why is it so important?
She recalled Archail mentioning it, too, just before he let Dar leave. This was getting more and more confusing by the minute. She had so many questions, but the more she learned, the more confused she became.

Maybe Archail was responsible for the women’s deaths and had accepted the consequences for whatever might go wrong again. Isn’t that what Dar had meant when he had let slip about consequences earlier? Had it been an accident? Or was Archail a killer?
An unnerving chill ran down her spine.

With him still in her thoughts, she walked by the lakeside until she stopped abruptly. Just a few feet away from her was Archail, lying naked on the brown sand. His hands covered his eyes, so she was sure he hadn’t seen her. Since he wasn’t moving, Sara felt it was safe to stand there and observe him carefully. He was a strange male, she thought. Sometimes he was tender and caring, like the last few days when she was recovering, but there was another side to him. He was a hunter, a warrior, and a predator.
Could he be a killer?
She watched him.
Or was he the caring male she had come to know during the past few days?
Her questions ran wild in her mind as she observed him carefully.

His body lay stretched out in the sun, his muscles outlined like a bronze-sculpted statue of a Greek god, yet he looked dark and distant too.
Her eyes moved down his body, regarding the stretched skin on his stomach and abdomen. She observed the tight muscles and flat bulging skin. She raised her eyebrows in amazement, as her eyes moved lower between his strong, thick thighs. Her attention was drawn to a large, rising bulge that stretched his skin and looked like it would rip open at any minute.
What is that?
It grew even bigger. A surgical line in his skin then parted enough for a protruding male member to rise freely to its full length.

Sara was aghast as she realized she had just witnessed the great Pradorian getting an erection. She backed away slowly, praying he wouldn’t notice her presence.

“Are you leaving already?” His thick, deep voice caused her to freeze.

Her heart raced, and her mind panicked. Trying to find something to say, she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. “I… I was just passing through, observing the plants.” She realized how stupid that sounded before she even finished her sentence.

“Were you now?” A gentle sarcasm embedded in his words.