2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

" W atch where you're going you clumsy…" Amelia fell on her rear, eyes opening wide as she looked at the impossibly huge purple monster in front of her. "Oh my God, did they send you after me?" She felt her heartbreak. It only made sense; she couldn't insult the crown prince of another planet, almost get his mate killed, and think they were going to let her walk away. Some part of her thought her cousins would forgive her, that they would know she didn't willingly try to kill them. So much for that thought, familial bonds her ass.

Amelia scurried back like a crab trying to get away from the purple menace when she heard voices talking about trapping or killing him. "The bounty is good, dead or alive," one of those voices called out.

"No!" Sarah cried out. "He saved the baby."

"Kill the baby, it's an abomination," a male said.

"John, it's your daughter," Sarah said, pleading.

"It's a thing. You let a monster touch it and you're no longer my woman. You brazen hussy, that monster defiled you. How did you like taking alien dick? Both of you need to die."

"Oh, hell no." Amelia jumped to her feet, no longer concerned about the death she deserved. That woman who just had a child didn't deserve to die. The world was going crazy, and the monsters weren't even the tip of the iceberg. The bottom of what was happening was buried so deep that she didn't think most people would ever see the roots.

The healer's solid arms came around Amelia's waist, picking her up. Her feet were running mid-air, but she wasn't getting anywhere.

"Put me down, foul monster," Amelia whispered in fury to the healer; she didn't want the men raging around the back of the house to hear her.

"If you run into the house, they will kill you. We have to act smart, not reckless." His words made sense, but his kind had turned her family against her. She refused to acknowledge the part she played. She growled and beat at his back, needing a scapegoat for the anger that was flaring up.

"The longer you act like a child, the greater the chance that the two females and the baby will die. Sure, keep acting like the only female on this planet worth saving is you."

That took all the steam from her. She was acting like a bona fide brat.

"Put me down." She was lying over his shoulder and the monster wasn't breathing hard as he lifted her significant weight into the air and then put her down. It took a few seconds for her legs to steady before she could walk backward, keeping him in her sight.

"What do you suggest we do?" There was a loud argument in the back of the house about who they should kill. Should they kill mother and child or just the child and was John sure he didn't want the traitor?

"I got me someone else, and she looks twice as good and can have a child without a monster touching her," John boasted. "I was going to leave her, anyway. Thought the child would kill her and my job would be done."

Amelia stumbled backward. The monster's eyes had gone from black with a thin strip of lavender to the lavender taking over the black. She'd never seen such rage and was concerned for John and the men out back as much as she was concerned for the women in the room.

He (the monster whose name she didn't know) quickly and quietly explained who the two women were in the room. He referred to them as females and sketched a plan to save them. She nodded, not sure she approved of the plan, but couldn't think of anything else. This plan had better work, she grumbled to herself.

"Anna-Mae, you slut, I'm coming in and you better not try to stop me!" She banged on the front door and slipped in quietly.

Amelia stomped into the room with her finger over her mouth, telling them to be quiet. "I want to see that baby; it better not look like my husband." There was a loud crash. The arguing outside stopped.

"Sit down, Sarah, I'll cut you, too."

"There's no need for this. You know Anna-Mae was always faithful to John."

"Is that so? Are you denying I caught her wagging her ass at my man and then trying to get out of the bedroom window when I came home? Did you think I didn't see you?" There was another crash and a wail as Anna-Mae begged for forgiveness.

"I'm sorry," she cried. "Zoya don't cry, baby."

"She named that baby Zoya. You better hope that ain't your whelp, John," a man said from out back.

Amelia could hear them taking a step closer not to miss what was being said.

"I'm waiting. What's the baby look like?" There was quiet as everyone held their breath.

"Truly."

"Don't beg. It's too late for you." The baby started crying. "Oh, my God!" Amelia screeched like a fishmonger's wife on the wharf. "She's the spitting image of my man!" Her voice rose at the end. "You're a dead bitch and so is my husband. Y'all want to be together. You can be there in hell."

"Shit, John, that bitch got this. Let's get out of here before anyone can try to pin it on us. That monster is long gone. We'll look for him after the heat dies down." There was more crashing in the house and random cursing.

Amelia sank to the floor after she was sure the men behind the house were gone. "Hi, I'm Amelia, and that purple monstrosity out front sent me in here to help. Sorry for the random destruction, but you can't stay here." Her upper body collapsed onto her legs. She spent the last two weeks on the run, sure that her oldest cousin was going to have her captured and killed.

She deserved it. That was what she told herself all the time. When push came to shove, she should have been brave enough to say no, kill me, but I won't betray those I love.

"Where can I go? This is all I have."

"No offense, but it's not much. Pack up."

"Anna-Mae isn't going anywhere without me," Sarah said, defiance lacing her voice.

"Then you should pack and make it quick." She didn't have time for this. Amelia was on the lam, running from place to place, experiencing as much of life as possible before she died. Didn't they understand her time was running out? No, it ran out. The purple police was outside waiting to take her into custody.

Anna-Mae, the baby, and Sarah still needed a place to go. Bella might take them in. She had that extra domicile on their property and that way she knew they would be safe. Her cousin may hate her, but she was a sap for someone in need. Look at how she stayed with her older sister all those years. Jenna was the oldest sister, but Bella stayed with Jenna to make sure she was taken care of.

Zylar slipped into the house after Sarah ran out with a hasty wait for me. I'll be right back.

"What's your name?" Amelia raised her head to find her captor kneeling beside her.

"I guess we're playing games now. My name is Amelia and I'm Jenna and Bella's cousin. I know Jenna sent you to kill or capture me." He gave a soft growl, not denying or agreeing with her suspicions.

"You can call me Zylar."

"Zylar," she rolled the name around in her mouth, liking it for some strange reason. "Rakha, my cousin Bella's mate, has another domicile on their land. I thought they could stay there." He was silent, waiting for Anna-Mae to pack and pick up Zoya.

"Follow me," Zylar told Anna and Sarah "Amelia, you take the lead."

She frowned, knowing he wanted to watch her, to stop her from escaping. Death was coming for her one way or the other.

She stopped at the front door, looking both ways to make sure no one was watching before stepping out. Sarah was coming out of a smaller house that looked more like a shack several doors down.

"I'm ready. I don't have much," Sarah said. Amelia looked at the three of them. They looked like they could do a cover for a plus-size magazine. She shook her head. There was no way she was pretty enough to be in a magazine, even if she was stick-thin. Anna-Mae looked like she was going to pass out soon. She just gave birth. Amelia didn't know what she expected her to look like.

"Where are we going? Do we have to walk? Anna's exhausted."

"Mae," Anna said reminding her of the other part of her name.

"I'm not calling you that. It's not what your mother named you. John wanted you to sound like you were a country Daisy Duke. That shithead is gone."

"I thought I loved him."

"I know, honey." Sarah went to her, wrapping her arms around Anna for a big hug.

Amelia choked on her tears refusing to cry. She used to have that kind of support when she was younger before her cousins left her behind. It was okay until her parents died. Tears she couldn't hide for the life of her slipped out. She missed them. They were her rocks. She didn't know John, but she could identify a waste of space easily and that's what he was.

"Come with me." She noticed that Zylar the purple menace never answered Sarah's question about how far Anna would have to walk. They walked down the street, passing several homes. No one was peaking outside the windows. Either they weren't home or didn't want to be questioned about what happened in Anna's home. Amelia couldn't blame them.

She couldn't hold it against them. Between the new court orders and the monsters from space, everyone was on edge. Amelia took the greyhound through a town where they were in the streets protesting. She wasn't sure what they were protesting, but she held her breath until they were safely away. There was a good possibility they didn't know what they were protesting about, either.

Zylar took them off the main road into some trees that were off to the side. They walked a ways before he came to a stop. Amelia's heart gave a painful thump, wondering if this was the end of the line for her.

"This isn't a Duran. Let's call it a cousin to the Duran."

Amelia choked on a laugh. She should get along with it, whatever it was. She was also the poor cousin. A vehicle she'd never seen came into view in front of them.

"Is that a spaceship?" It was the first spark Amelia heard from Anna since her boyfriend kicked her to the curb and denied their baby.

"It's a small land-to-space cruiser." If that was Zylar's definition of small, she didn't want to know what large meant to him. That sounded dirty in her mind, making her want to kick herself.

The door opened to reveal a large bank of equipment up front with two captain's chairs. There were several chairs lined up inside the cruiser. Zylar pointed to a chair up front for Amelia before getting the other seated comfortably and belting them in.

"I'm taking you someplace you will be protected and fed." Zylar's fingers skimmed the controls, looking like a pianist with perfect symmetry to his hands. Amelia choked and looked in a different direction. She never wanted one of the purple monsters, but there was a time, long ago when she had wanted someone. Some dreams come true, just not hers.

They sped through the sky, going faster than the speed of light. An invisible beam brought the cruiser to a sudden halt, throwing everyone against their safety harnesses.

"Identify yourself."