Chapter 2

The wild storms of Vasz were fierce.

But so was Rael.

He squinted at the wild skies, the clouds shifting through a murky pearlescent shimmer that glinted off of his golden skin. His cloak whipped behind him, a complement to his pent-up mood, and the wind whistled between his horns.

It was all a beautiful sight.

It was all his.

The territory surrounding him was his clan”s territory. It was his to protect, his to defend. Everything that he could see was under his care. His people lived here, safe under his watchful eye. They cultivated the thick vegetation, they tended the animals, and they lived in peace — all under his defense.

It was a heavy responsibility, but it was one that Rael bore with pride.

At the moment, though, he was also bearing it with more than a little fatigue.

The diplomatic trip had been grueling. Dealing with other clan leaders was always a trial, even when they were on good terms. Not just Rael”s long journey over to their neighboring lands, but the endless negotiations, the subtle peacocking, the politeness that everyone knew could shatter into violence at any moment…

Gods, Rael had certainly had enough of that. It was all enough to make a Borraq alpha long for the simplicity of battle.

And then there was the matter of the medical treatment.

Rael had gone to his neighbors for standard clan diplomacy, but he”d also been eager for any news of medical supplies.

Worrak was the child of one of Rael”s warriors, just a few years from his prime. He was a good kid. He had a future ahead of him as a warrior in his own right, if he could just get through this damn sickness.

But the gene medicine that he needed was rare, and it was expensive. If there was any way to secure a cure, Rael needed to find it.

But none of the neighboring clans had heard of any cheaper suppliers. With the war against the humans raging in space, complex medical supplies were scarce on Vasz — and when you could finally find someone offering them, their prices were sky-high.

Rael was the clan”s alpha. He had to find a way to get it.

He had to.

But first, he had to get home to his clan”s village. He had a long journey ahead of him, but it was one that he”d taken many times. Through the woods, across the raging twin rivers of Miaj and Nor, and around the edge of the vast plain of the Kasri desert. All he had to do was keep putting one foot in front of the other—

Something exploded.

The sound was enormous, a deep boom that shook the landscape and echoed through the sky, vibrating Rael”s very bones. It was like nothing he”d ever heard before, something truly cataclysmic.

He startled, his heart pounding in his chest. What in the seven hells was that?! His grip tightened on his blade”s hilt. It had been his father”s blade before him, and his father”s father”s before that. It had seen every challenge that an alpha could face. Rael centered himself on its sturdy hilt, drawing on the touch of the line of alphas before him.

He scanned the area, senses on high alert.

Dust and debris scattered in the distance.

Rael”s eyes narrowed, his protective instincts kicking into high gear. He broke into a sprint, muscles rippling beneath his skin as he raced towards the source of the disturbance.

Whatever was going on, it was in his territory — and he would be damned if he didn”t defend it.

In the distance, a plume of smoke rose up from the Kasri plain.

There. That was his target.

He knew these lands. It didn”t take him long to crest a ridge in the woods, gazing out over the open spread of the desert plain.

When he saw what it was, he froze.

A ship.

It was an ugly thing. It lay in the middle of the desert plain, half-buried in the sand. The metal was rent and twisted, great scars marring its surface. Smoke rose from it, thick oily plumes that filled the storm breeze with the stink of burnt electronics, even at this distance.

It was a human craft.

Rael knew a Borraq vessel when he saw one. They were sleek and deadly things, built for speed and for war. As his clan”s alpha, he”d stood at Vasz”s stardock and seen off the volunteer warriors from his clan, all eager to prove themselves in battle.

Some came back. Some never did.

Yes, Rael knew Borraq ships. But this was different. It was a bulky, ugly thing, all sharp angles and heft.

He”d never seen a human ship up close before, let alone a crashed one — but there was no question about it.

How had it gotten here? His territory was in the middle of the Borraq home planet, far from the human front in space. The war with the humans raged far away out there, between the stars, in asteroid fields and around dead planets.

The Borraq”s home planet should have been the last possible place for a human ship to be.

And yet one had still managed to crash right in the middle of Rael”s territory.

Rael”s lip curled in disgust. He was a proud Borraq, born and bred. His people had their ways, their traditions. They lived in harmony with the galaxy, taking what they needed and defending it from any that would try to take it from them. They were fair in their dealings with other species, so long as those species respected Borraq strength.

And if they didn”t respect it, they were punished.

But ever since the humans had burst onto the galactic scene, everything had changed. The Borraq were a warrior race, it was true — but they were warriors with honor. They fought for reasons, for causes. They had rules, lines that they wouldn”t cross. There were ways to earn their enmity, and ways to earn their respect.

But not with humans. Dealing with them was like trying to negotiate with wild animals. They had no sense of justice, no understanding of anything other than their own desires. They shook hands on agreements, and then stabbed you in the back. One would make a promise with Borraq, and then another would break it — and then both would close ranks and support each other.

They acted without honor, without rules.

They were a blight on the galaxy.

And now, even the Borraq that lived in their traditional ways on their home planets had to deal with them.

It was an insult. It was an outrage. Rael”s chest swelled with pride, but also with anger. This planet was his. His people were under his protection, and he would defend them from any threat — no matter what species that threat might be.

His hand on his blade”s hilt, Rael quickened his pace.

Soon, he approached the crashed ship with a mixture of curiosity and caution.

The thing was a mess. It lay half-buried in the sand, great gouges marring its hull. The front of the ship was completely torn open, crumpled and spilling out.

It was hard to imagine that anyone could survive a crash like that. Still, Rael had learned to never underestimate humans. They were tough, tenacious creatures, despite their smaller bodies.

You never could tell when they were truly beaten. No matter how you injured them, they always rose up again.

Rael eyed the wreckage cautiously as he approached, his powerful legs carrying him forward with long, purposeful strides. The twisted metal reeked of burnt electronics and ozone, assaulting his senses. He wrinkled his nose in distaste, the stench triggering a deep, primal revulsion within him.

Yet, even as his lips curled in a sneer of disgust, a tiny voice at the back of his mind whispered of opportunity.

There was a standing bounty for any human found on Vasz — dead or alive.

Dead humans fetched a sturdy sum, but alive ones were even better. The bounty on a captive human could easily cover the cost of the gene therapy Worrak so desperately needed.

Rael”s eyes narrowed as he scanned the massive form of the wreckage, searching for any signs of life amidst the mangled debris. Surely some of the fragile humans had survived the crash, stubborn creatures that they were. If he could capture even one…

The thought made his blood run hot with anticipation. Not only would he be ridding his lands of an infestation, but he”d also be providing for his clan in the most direct way possible. It was his duty as alpha to protect and provide, and the prospect of killing two sandgrubs with one strike filled him with a sense of grim satisfaction.

If there were humans aboard that wreck, he would find them. And once he had them in his grasp, the bounty was as good as claimed. Worrak”s future would be secured, and Rael”s clan would be provided for.

All he had to do was sniff out his prey.

He looked down.

Despite the stormy wind whipping at the desert sand, the tracks were unmistakable. A single pair of footprints staggered away from the wreck, deep imprints in the soil that showed the wearer”s struggle.

A survivor.

Rael grinned.