9. Chapter 9

My last thoughts before falling asleep were easier said than done, especially when the next day, Tzar-Than returned with a very beaten-up-looking Gwyn.

"Gwyn!" I exclaimed, surprised at how happy seeing her alive made me. "Oh my God, I'm so glad he found you!" She let out a small cry of pain, and I let go of her, taking a closer look at her bruised face. "Good heavens, what happened to you?"

"Sandra and her Queen Bees," she managed, turning her head to look for them.

"Tzar-Than had them all locked up over there," I said, pointing toward the corral-looking fenced-off area.

For the first time, I noticed that Tzar-Than had returned with another group of Vandruks. One of them stood out, with markings on his body similar to Tzar-Than's, but also because he was taller and broader than the regular warriors. My heart made a little flop inside my chest. Don't you dare start salivating , I told myself, but I was close. He was by far the most handsome man I had ever seen. Even Tzar-Than couldn't measure up to him.

"Dzur-Khan," Gwyn said with a grimace as a drop of blood made its way out of her split lip. "He's a khadahr like Tzar-Than."

I couldn't stop staring at the massive man, whose presence alone diminished everyone around him. An aura of power emanated from him that weakened my knees. He was exactly the type of man to turn me on. He was also a lot taller than human men. I was taller than the average woman, but I estimated I would barely reach his chest. His biceps were larger than my thighs, a thought that soaked my pussy, no matter how inappropriate my response was given the circumstances. But, oh boy, did I want to jump his bones.

I always had a strong sexual appetite. I often used sex to come to terms with my emotions—probably because I spent too much time in the company of men who tended to use the same approach. And these last few days had been filled with a shitload of emotions I would have loved to unscramble and get out of my mind, even just for a little while.

"He's pretty gorgeous." Gwyn poked my side with her elbow, and I stifled a giggle.

"That's an understatement if I ever heard one," I pressed out while keeping my giggle under control. Good God, what was happening to me? I hadn't giggled since… no, I don't think I had ever giggled.

My train of thought and our conversation was cut short when Tzar-Than issued a few short commands in Vandruk at Szun-Var, which translated to something like, bring the prisoners .

It didn't take long until Szun-Var reappeared, followed by a subdued group of Queen Bees, Sandra, Erika, and Lexi, including Kenley and Michaela, who had posed as Gwyn's friends. Behind them trailed the human guards.

"You have been found guilty of trying to assassinate my khadahrshi," Tzar-Than said in English before repeating his words in Vandruk for the warriors who were forming a circle around us.

I raised my eyebrow at Gwyn and whispered, "Khadahrshi?"

She nodded solemnly. "I think it means something like queen." Her face flushed.

Before I could come back with a retort, Willis yelled, "We did nothing!"

"Nothing but stand in my way," Tzar-Than agreed. "You were never invited, and now it's time for you to return. Take these females with you and protect them as you were ordered."

Wait, what?

Shit!

Willis was my number one suspect, and now he was going to leave? If Tzar-Than sent him away I would never catch the killer.

"Now, hold on just one goddamn minute. I have no idea what happened here," Willis insisted.

"Which is one of the reasons I want you to leave. You failed to protect the gallies, you made yourselves a nuisance, and you refuse to follow my orders," Tzar-Than summarized.

"We don't even know how to get back," Willis asserted .

"I will have two males escort and guide you, but you will be responsible for your own safety and to feed your charges. Understood?"

"What if I refuse?" Willis challenged.

"Then my males and I will drag you tied through the wildlands," Dzur-Khan threatened, calling Willis out, while flexing his hand over the handle of his stone ax.

Willis grumbled, "This isn't right."

"I can take them back," the gorgeous warrior god who had arrived with Gwyn and whom she had called Dzur-Khan offered in Vandruk.

"That's a lot of responsibility," Tzar-Than answered.

Dzur-Khan shrugged, "I have to return to the red fog anyway. I'll make sure they make it safely to their home planet."

Suddenly, Sandra wailed. "I'm sorry." She ran forward as if she wanted to throw herself at Gwyn, but the Vandruk warriors held her back. "Gwyn, please."

"You are only sorry you didn't make sure I was dead," Gwyn hissed, turning her back.

"Gwyn?" Kenley pleaded. "I'm sorry, they made me do it. Please, I want to stay."

Gwyn whirled on her heel and moved straight into Kenley's face. "I thought you were my friend."

"I was… I am!" Kenley sniffled back tears, and I willed Gwyn to stay strong .

She did. "You made your bed, now lay in it," she said about to walk off with Tzar-Than, but he stopped and turned her to face the crowd. "Meet your khadahrshi, my chosen mate, Gwyn!"

Goosebumps spread all over my skin at his announcement. A big fat smile plastered over my lips, and I stared at Gwyn, who looked as uncomfortable as one could get.

Something cute and furry appeared from out of nowhere and climbed up Gwyn's legs, stomach, and arms until he came to a stop, perched on top of her shoulder, winding a long tail around her throat. Automatically, my hand reached for my throat; I would hate having that around my neck.

A stunned silence spread over the collective Vandruks and, subsequently, everyone else as the men all stared at Gwyn and the fuzzball.

Suddenly, the air was filled with a drumming sound as all the Vandruks pounded their chests with their fists. Gwyn stood a bit straighter, and a rush of pride for her swelled through me. I've never been the type to watch corny romance movies, but right then, I felt as if I was in the middle of one, unable to name the emotions running through me.

I didn't know why, but my head turned to Dzur-Khan. He and his men were also pounding their chests, and I couldn't help but admire the dance of his muscles under his skin.

Later, I watched the crying Queen Bees and the petulant guards pack up their things, including some of the Vandruks' tents. Now what ?

"Good riddance. It's not like they've done anything," Pierre remarked next to me.

It lay at the tip of my tongue to snarl, " Neither did you or the others ," but I was sure those words would have never come out of Dawn's mouth, so I refrained while my mind worked feverishly on what to do. I couldn't let Willis get away.

"I have half a mind of going back with them," Bob West, our fearless science leader, mumbled. I hadn't realized that the entire team had assembled next to me.

"Go back?" I asked absentmindedly. That meant we would go with Willis and the Queen Bees and… Dzur-Khan…

"Yeah, this place isn't what I thought it would be, all this walking," Bob complained.

"And those pesky insects," Scott added.

I bit my tongue. These were the top scientists chosen to explore an alien planet? Humanity was indeed in dire straights if these three weaklings were the best Intergalactic Communications was able to come up with.

I noticed Pierre's eye fly to Willis. He didn't just look indecisive; he looked like someone looking for someone's direction. Why would it matter to Pierre what Willis thought?

Scott agreed, and I turned my attention back to the other two men. "Maybe we should go with them. These aliens…" his eyes darted to a Vandruk warrior who probably outweighed him four to one. "I don't know if I feel safe around them without our guards."

I nearly laughed at that. If he really believed the handful of guards IC had assigned to this expedition would have been able to hold even three Vandruk warriors back for longer than five minutes, he was even stupider than I had thought.

But… their lack of balls played into my hands. Beautifully even. I had no intentions of going back to Earth—this alien planet intrigued me… alright, let's be honest, the aliens intrigued me—especially not until I knew if Willis was responsible for Dawn's death or not. And if he was… I would probably be wanted for murder on Earth.

"What do we say, though? How do we explain our sudden wish to return to the portal, and what will we say to Weidenhof?" Bob whined, trying to figure out how to save face with his superiors after giving up the opportunity of a lifetime.

"We can tell the aliens that I broke a few of the samples, and we need new ones," I suggested.

As if the men had forgotten I was here and part of the team, they stared at me.

"That's a great idea!" Bob praised.

"Still, what about Weidenhof?" Scott reminded him.

"Fine, let's play the girl card, alright? It was me. I couldn't stand this alien planet. I wanted to go home. Now, let me talk to… that alien," I looked at Dzur-Khan, who was standing aside with his group of warriors, watching the humans pack.

All three seemed to like that idea. Why not blame it on the woman?

Without waiting for the men, I walked toward the tall alien.

"You, take us with?" I requested in Vandruk, pointing at Bob, Pierre, Scott, and myself in Vandruk .

Electric blue eyes regarded me. Boy, I thought I had gotten used to the reptile-like eyes of the aliens, but this blue?

"Why?" He demanded in a deep voice that sent ripples of desire down my back,

"I lost samples," I explained, using the English word for samples. I knew he wouldn't understand it, but I also didn't have the faintest idea if Vandruk even had a word for it.

"I need… to… make new ones," I added, knowing I was misusing words and probably not making any sense. Or not much.

"Tzar-Than," he called out before yelling, "This gallis wants to go with me."

"Dawn?" Tzar-Than and Gwyn walked over. Great, that was just what I needed. I hated lying to Gwyn.

Still, it had to be done. I explained my broken slides to Tzar-Than, and he, in turn, spoke to Dzur-Khan in rapid Vandruk, explaining what I needed and the scientists' roles and warning him about Willis and the Queen Bees.

All the while, Gwyn scrutinized me through her swollen eyes as if she were seeing to the bottom of my soul, scenting my lies. She had helped me pack most of the samples; if I had thrown the backpack against a wall, they wouldn't have broken.

Then her gaze moved to Dzur-Khan and back at me with a knowing grin and a wink that made her wince because of her split lip. Fine , I thought, let her think I have the hots for the alien .

But part of me felt bad, not only for leaving her when she really needed a nursemaid, but for lying to her, and most of all because I would probably never see her again, and she would always think of me as Dawn, not Amber.

Tzar-Than and Dzur-Khan finished their discussion, and finally, Tzar-Than introduced me and the others. "This is Doctor Dawn Wayland, Bob West, Pierre Delon, and Scott Hayes."

Dzur-Khan's eyes lingered on me longer than the others, whirlpooling warm blood through my system and creating a sensation of comfort like I had never experienced before. I had always been on my own and had never relied on anybody else, but for some reason, this buff alien made me feel like I could let my guard down around him as if I could finally be myself.

"Dawn," he said my sister's name, and it irked me until he shook his head. "This name doesn't suit you. I will call you Amira." Or something like that. My mind added the words I understood and created this sentence in my head.

I barely stopped myself from closing my eyes and moaning in pleasure; his voice was like warm oil moving down my back; his words, this name doesn't suit you, echoed inside my head, making me feel as if he could see to the bottom of my soul.

I knew Amira meant fire or flame and was most likely a play on my hair, which was the same color as Dawn's. Still, for some reason, I was sure his assessment was based on more than the shade of my hair.

We started walking, and I couldn't take my eyes off the beast of a man. Fucking had always been my therapy treatment. I had been in many life-and-death situations. Sometimes, my life had hung in the balance, and sometimes, someone else's. The sex afterward, though? Exquisite! Same with sex after a good night at the poker table.

Being on an alien planet? That was definitely fuckworthy. It had been nearly a week now, or longer, since the worst of it had happened, and my libido was at a screaming point. If I didn't get laid sometime soon, I worried I would implode at the most inopportune moment.