Chapter 2CamilaBerus

Chapter 2

Camila

Four days later…

Camila's first thought when she was thrown into a cell on the bounty hunter ship, right next to the one Rehden was in, was Fuck, here we go again .

She had survived on her own for a few days on the planet, rationing whatever was left of her nutrition bars, sneaking out to gather fresh water from the nearby stream in the narrow windows of dawn and dusk when it was the safest. She'd bumped into one of the Mountain-Lion-Meets-Komodo-Dragon-Grizzly-Bear creatures again and had barely survived due to sheer luck more than anything. She'd been close to the transport and had dived in headfirst, slamming the door shut behind her.

The creature had stayed around for two full days, and she'd thought she die of thirst until it had rained. She'd collected the rainwater through a cracked transport window. After that, the creature lost interest and she was able to sneak out of her transport at dawn and dusk when it was safest to visit the river and explore the area.

She was rescued by a Tallean mercenary named Ckzarr and his human mate Roxy just yesterday. A good thing too, because she was running out of nutrition bars. Unfortunately, Ckzarr also had a bounty on his head, like Rehden, and the bounty hunters had come back to nab him too, the greedy bastards.

According to Roxy, Ckzarr was her mate and not her owner, which explained why he was so sweet to her. Their crew was on their way to rescue them, so the three of them only needed to hang tight until they arrived.

While on the planet, Roxy and Ckzarr had made friends with a juvenile version of those scary Mountain-Lion-Meets-Komodo-Dragon-Grizzly-Bear beasts. Nibbles wasn't a pet per se, but he'd followed them out of the mining tunnels and wouldn't leave them alone. He was a troublemaker, but he hadn't tried to eat them. Yet.

Camila liked Roxy. Her hair was bright and bold, with shades of pink, blue, and purple scattered throughout, but the woman herself was no-nonsense and straightforward. Roxy also spoke to the terrifying Tallean merc like an equal, which Camila admired. Roxy worked on the same mercenary crew as Ckzarr and had been doing so for the last two years, since escaping from her original owner.

Ckzarr had been out hunting their dinner when the bounty hunters came knocking. Not finding him, they'd taken Camila and Roxy instead. And that was why she was now cowering behind Roxy as Rehden glared at her from the next cell over.

The bounty hunter who'd tossed her into the cell was another of those godawful-smelling, mutated ones. He leered at her.

"I'm calling first claim on that one," he announced.

"Bullshit to calling claims," said the one who held Roxy by the hair. "I'm fucking this bitch now before the others get back."

The lout pushed poor Roxy onto the ground, although Camila's new friend fought back bravely, kicking and scratching. Camila looked on helplessly. She ordered her limbs to move, to do something to help her friend, but she was frozen in place. Terrified. Broken.

Before Rehden stole her away, Camila had spent the past few years on an inner Dominion planet as a pretty plaything for a rich merchant. She'd seen what happened to those who disobeyed: they ended up missing teeth, fingers and toes, and eventually were sold to even worse places.

In the heart of the inner Dominion planets, escape was near impossible. But these were the outer planets, and Roxy was no broken slave. She still fought. And all Cami could do was watch, feeling utterly useless.

Another bounty hunter, deciding that his friend had the right idea, rounded on Camila. She backed away.

"Release her!" The roared words bellowed throughout the ship's brig.

Ckzarr! Help was here!

The mutant dropped Roxy, and she stumbled back to smash into the ship's wall. The one who'd had his eyes on Camila whipped around.

Roxy's mate stood in the door in full bloodlust, his fangs long and descended, his jaws unhinged. It was a truly terrifying sight. He lunged at Roxy's attacker, and the fight was on.

Ckzarr hadn't come alone. Behind him was the biggest Tallean Camila had ever seen. She stood frozen in place, her heart pounding in her chest at the sight of him.

Tallean males tended to put on muscle easily, but this massive bear of a specimen made the others look like bean poles. He was in full bloodlust as well, and it was as if a mountain had grown claws and fangs and was about to go berserk. He had tan-colored skin, slightly lighter than Ckzarr's, and yellow-green eyes. His dark, wiry hair was tied up at the back of his head with a leather thong.

His cheek creases, the most distinctive Tallean facial feature, were completely unfolded, and his jaws extended wide. He looked like he could bite her head off in one chomp. Like all Talleans, he had four giant claws on each foot, sticking out from the open front of his combat-style boots, gleaming and sharp. He rounded on the mutant who'd called dibs on Camila.

The two fought like feral beasts. The newcomer had a clear advantage. Not only was he larger and stronger, but he was also clearly well-trained and unbelievably coordinated. Camila couldn't believe a body that size could move so gracefully. It was like watching him practice a well-choreographed and very lethal dance. That perfect body wasn't for show. He wielded it like a well-honed weapon.

The bounty hunter was now bleeding profusely. The multiple wounds would have killed a human, but he continued to fight as if he couldn't feel a thing. It must be those Dominion chemicals he took. Camila had heard her original owner, Uctarr, talk about them. He'd considered investing in them so he could dose his guards, but in the end had decided to wait until the Dominion ironed out all the pesky side effects.

Camila now understood the appeal of the drugs. The bounty hunter by all accounts should be dead. The newcomer had punched his face completely in: it was literally concave where his nose had been, yet still he fought like some hyper-speed zombie from a C movie.

Camila couldn't look away from the train wreck as the Tallean she had come to think of as The Bear continued bashing the bounty hunter until there was nothing left of his head but a pile of mush. That was finally enough to stop him. Next to The Bear, Ckzarr had bested his opponent as well. Roxy's Tallean warrior roared his victory as he held up the severed head of his opponent before tossing it at the twitching body.

Throughout all this, Camila stood frozen in place, unable to move, partly from the shock of witnessing such violence and partly because she didn't know what to do.

Suddenly, two more bounty hunters appeared at the door of the brig. They held what looked like rocket launchers, but instead of rockets, they shot nets at her rescuers. The nets hit Ckzarr and The Bear, and the two went down. Hard.

The nets sparked and zinged with electricity, and every time the prisoners moved, the nets tightened around them. Even the mountain of a Tallean was eventually immobilized.

The two bounty hunters—thankfully not stinking of Dominion chemicals—stood by the door looking smug.

"Looks like it's our lucky day. Three catches, three bounties. And two females to celebrate our good fortune with." One of them looked down at his decapitated crewmate. "These two idiots were stinking up the fucking ship anyway. Their fault for accepting chems from the Dominion."

The other one agreed, adding happily that this way they didn't need to split the bounty with the dead ones, then calling for backup to bring tranquilizers. When there was no reply he went to fetch them himself, leaving his friend behind to watch the two downed mercs.

The remaining male advanced on Roxy, and Ckzarr let out a snarl.

The asshole laughed. " This is the bitch you risked your freedom for? It'll be fun fucking her in front of your cell. Maybe we'll all take her together at once." He held Roxy in front of him and dragged his fangs down her bare shoulder. "Mmm, such pretty colors. I didn't know humans came in multi-colored hair." He sniffed her deeply. "She does smell good."

Ckzarr roared and struggled, but Camila's eyes were on Roxy's hands, which were reaching for the asshole's blaster. Roxy moved quickly, grabbing the weapon and bringing it in a wide arc over her head to smash into her captor's face. He instinctively grabbed his nose, releasing her. It gave her just enough time to toggle off the safety and shoot him in the chest. He fell over her with a new hole in his body.

"Fuck! Get him off me," Roxy screamed.

Camila's limbs finally responded. She grabbed the guy's shirt and started pulling. Damn! He was heavy. But eventually, she got the body off Roxy. The hole in his chest was still smoking.

"Quick, grab the second net launcher," Roxy ordered. "Press the button on the right side, the one that's flashing."

Cami did, even though it felt like someone else was controlling her body. With the nets no longer electrified, the two Talleans shoved them off their bodies.

Ckzarr and Roxy embraced. The Bear sent Cami a grin, his fangs on full display. She was suddenly very aware of just how big The Bear was, and how she was exactly prey sized.

"Let's get out of here before the rest of them return," The Bear said. It almost felt to Cami that he was talking directly to her.

Their eyes met, and he reached out to her.

"Hey," called a familiar voice.

Camila deflated. Rehden . She'd completely forgotten about him. If he was here, then she was no longer free. He would claim her as his again.

"I'm Rehden," he said to Ckzarr. "Free me; I'd do the same for you."

Rehden went on to explain that he'd worked for a Dominion merchant and how they'd pinned it on him when merchandise had gone missing, even though he was innocent. Then he suggested they all work together as temporary allies in case the bounty hunters got back before they could escape.

Innocent, her ass! He wasn't innocent at all. He'd stolen the weapons, just like he'd stolen her. Camila pressed her lips together, not sure if she would be punished simply for speaking.

"We will free you," Ckzarr declared. "But if you even think about betraying us, it will mean your head on a platter."

"You don't have to worry about me. I'll never try for your bounty. I'm a wanted male myself. I just want to get off this rock. I can pay my way once I get access to my accounts."

Yeah, right! Rehden would sell his own mother for some extra credits. Camila made a note to warn Roxy the second she had the chance.

A loud rumbling filled the air. Their ride off the planet had landed!

Camila started to follow everyone out, but a slippery patch of blood had her rolling her ankle and stumbling into the wall. She righted herself, swearing. Argh! Just her luck. Of all the times to twist her ankle, it had to be when they were escaping an enemy ship.

She ignored the pain and soldiered on after the group, limping. Suddenly, she was lifted off her feet. Cami stifled a scream as she found herself pressed to a big, warm chest. The Bear carried her as they hurried through the enemy ship.

Her first instinct was to freak out. He was terrifying! Then again, he was also part of the rescue team, and he could move a lot faster than her, even with her in his arms.

She forced herself to calm down, closing her eyes and taking slow breaths. He was covered in blood, but the part of his shirt by her nose was clean, and the musky, masculine scent of him was pleasing as it filled her nostrils. It also drowned out the iron tang of blood that made her queasy.

Okay, this wasn't so bad. She could handle this.

She was getting rescued, and that meant she'd Survive Another Day.