Chapter Two

*Ragnar*

The warehouse is cramped and smells like musty, forgotten human technology. It is a hard cry from comfort, but I do not complain as I crouch in a far corner, watching the covered stairs that lead down into the human dwelling. It is the only source of entertainment in this foreign hell. A dangerous one, considering the weapons this group of humans has at their disposal, but one I am willing to take.

I can hear them now, the vibrations as they move around calling to my baser instinct. Ignoring the predatory voice in my mind that demands I kill, maim and murder, I focus on the logic and intrigue. Just to be sure, I crouch further behind the machinery, a tractor, so that not even the sail upon my back is visible.

Some of the human women wouldn’t notice even if it was, traipsing out and about with no care in the world, but there are two who wouldn't hesitate to spot my sail and spikes. They are the ones that intrigue me, calling to the male within me, shutting out the snarls of the beast.

I’ve watched these particular humans for months now, the only highlight in my otherwise dim existence. This part of Earth is similar to my home world, but the air quality and weather patterns are miserable. Right now, the weather is so hot as to feel like my organs are boiling beneath my skin. How the humans dealt with it for so long is a mystery to me.

The shadows of the warehouse are simply a perk to watching them. The other perk is that I have something to do, something to focus on rather than the slow descent into madness that plagues my kind. It was one of the main reasons we were picked for this cursed experiment.

A whole slew of human curses come to mind, but I refuse to use them, hating the translator that was shoved into my brain before I was dropped on this hellish world. The trek from Prulen to here was long. Much like the invasion on Earth, Prulen was lost to these invaders, its people torn apart and spread across galaxies for one reason or another.

My fate was better than most of my kind, treated as brutish beasts used in brutal fights to the death. Our nature demands it of us. Even then, this is a horrific fate. We weren’t the most technologically advanced species, but we were happy. We were curing our ailments, including the nature of the beast. The insanity that attacks more and more of the males of my species.

My claws dig into the concrete, flexing involuntarily against the surge of hatred I feel towards the beings responsible for all of this. For taking us from a world that held all the answers, for dropping us here against our wills. The Gilgamites. An unimpressive species with little in the way of natural defenses. Their strongest feature being their minds. The same minds that came up with this “experiment” they wished to perform on Earth. An experiment we weren’t made aware of as they collected all of the different species to dump here.

“They are so loud, I’m sure they can be heard for miles.” A clicking voice grumbles from above me. Fighting the urge to jump up and snap at him, I instead tilt my head all the way back to glare into the darkness of the cavernous ceiling.

“Your clicking whines will be sure to drown them out.” I respond in our shared language, the guttural words conveying my annoyance.

“You could always leave my home. Then you wouldn’t have to hear me at all.” Rolcor responds, his clicking sounding far too amused for my liking. Not that I have any true anger towards him. In some ways he is a reminder of the world I lost. A thread that tethers me to my lost reality.

His species is from the northern part of my world, a reclusive kind that keeps themselves apart from others, but together as a community. He also keeps well out of my reach should I lose my temper. Blasted web building monstrosity.

Humans would call him spider-like with his massive eight legs and hard carapace. Though I must give it to him, his torso and neck are more human-like than not. His mandibles on the other hand, are what nightmares are made of, even for someone as fearsome as me. I’ve been on the receiving end of one of those bites, the venom makes for some nasty side effects.

“We’ve been through this already. I was here first, Rolcor. I simply let you live in the rafters like an insect after I realized you interloped on my territory. Goddess knows you are as obnoxious as one of them. Constantly buzzing in my ear.” My voice is gravelly, my irritation growing.

“You would be bored without me, and you know it. Even a beast as unsophisticated as you can appreciate company every now and then.” He rumbles back, his good nature unflappable. If he were any other manner of creature that was even half as volatile as I, we would have torn each other apart months ago. As it is, we coexist, both of us drawn to the odd grouping of humans that live below us. And as loathe as I am to admit it…the company is nice.

One look at his ugly, smug face makes me resolved to not tell him though. He wouldn’t leave me alone about it for the rest of our days, I’m sure. Our people are not enemies in our home world, but we aren’t exactly companions either.

Our natures are far too different for that. His species, Grexarians, are social beings with a complex social hierarchy. My kind, Memnars, are mostly solitary, fighting our own natures too often to have a companion for long unless we are packed bonded or unless that companion is our mate. Though, even then our nature is to be violent and protective over them.

The sound of the lower door scraping open has both of us snapping our heads in that direction. Mine with rapt attention and Rolcor’s with unbridled curiosity. If he were any other, I might worry he intended to eat the small beings and yet we have both protected them since we arrived. Our combined scents drive all interlopers away.

The first few days were filled with fights and the constant need to mark our territory, but our peace was hard won and long lasting.

The form that appears at the top of the stairs makes my hair stand on end with awareness. It is the intense one. She is one of the tallest and strongest of the humans below, and whenever she is above ground, I must move very carefully to avoid detection. Her mind is strong, as strong as her spirit. She is always aware of the world around her and acts accordingly.

My nose wrinkles at the sight of her weapons, both in disdain and confusion. They never carry weapons to gather supplies from the shelves that hide me from their sight. They only ever carry a flashlight. What is the point? They will do no good against most of the aliens they might face.

Instead of walking towards Rolcor and my hiding spot, the dark-haired human female barely glances our way before approaching the large bay door. The unusual behavior puts me on high alert. She never goes out without checking the warehouse first. This time when my sails stand upright, it is from apprehension. Surely, she doesn’t intend to go outside. They retrieved vegetables not long ago and the garden is outside an opposite, much smaller door.

Forgetting all about Rolcor for a moment, I stare hard at the little human, willing her to back away from that door. On the other side of lies danger. A danger that drove Rolcor and I to hide away, to lay claim to a territory and defend it with our lives. This world is no longer safe for the little creatures. Hell, it is hardly safe for me, and I am easily twenty times her size. The little covered garden is safe enough in brief bouts. But the outside world is brutal and harsh.

Truly, I shouldn’t care about her intentions, but I do. My interest in humans stopped bothering me the moment I found their little hideout. Humans aren’t necessarily my enemy despite their world being a living nightmare. I don’t hate them irrationally, unlike most of the beings I traveled here with.

A lot of my fellow aliens went on killing sprees, seeing humans as nothing more than a pesky prey to be dealt with. Then again, a lot of the worlds that the beings were stolen from were far less advanced than human society. Their lives were kill-or-be killed and being placed on Earth didn’t change that. My own world didn’t have the same technology, but our social awareness was similar even if our habits were different.

The beast within me growls, challenging the veneer of civility I so desperately try to hang onto, holding out much longer than most males of my kind. To my horror, it takes notice of the human woman, locked onto her like a predator seeing its prey. A direct contradiction to my thoughts a few moments ago.

Shoving down my urge to hunt, to maim and destroy, I focus on her actions noting the way her hands shake as she carefully lifts the large bay door a few inches. Casting one last look back at her home, she disappears beneath the door before slowly shutting it after her. The ensuing silence is loud to my sensitive ears as they try to follow the sounds of her crunching footsteps, making their way further from the safety of her hideout.

“She is going to die.” Rolcor murmurs, sadness tingeing his words. For the last few months, we have done nothing but bicker with one another, using the humans as a distraction from our own despair. Silently we have been cheering them on in their bid for survival. A way to claim some semblance of control and normalcy. The thought of losing one of the little creatures is like a stab to my three hearts, a sentiment Rolcor seems to share.

“Why would she go outside? They just recently picked the earthen growths that they eat. Their water system is still functional. The sound keeps me up most nights. What else would she need that would drive her outside?” I growl back, climbing to my feet I almost bolt after her, feeling a draw towards her, a need to follow to make sure she is alright. Light floods the space as I do, revealing the large hole in the ground that we use to enter the warehouse.

“The sick one.” Rolcor murmurs, something in his words and tone make me snap my gaze back to him.

“What?” I ask, confused and angry. There hasn’t been a scent of sickness that I could detect. New fear shoots through me. Has he detected something and not told me?

My inner beast rises, the sudden influx of emotions making my grasp on him loosen, if only marginally. Sensing the change in me, Rolcor shifts further up on the ceiling, out of my reach.

“The sick one. A few weeks ago, one of them came into the warehouse to gather supplies from the shelves. She fell from the low ladder and injured her arm. The others carry her scent, but it is wrong. Like she carries a sickness in her wound.” His eerie number of eyes shift until a faint glow begins in them. The look isn’t one I have ever seen on his face, and I am immediately suspicious of the story he tells. He is leaving details out, to what end I do not know.

A human shout distracts me though and I whip my head around towards the direction the human woman went. It was her. I know that without a shadow of a doubt. Fear for her rises within me again and I finally recognize the emotion for what it is. Pack bonding. Hatred for my nature fills me even as relief does too. The obsession for the little beast makes sense in a way that it didn’t before. I’ve pack-bonded with Rolcor and the little creatures despite them not being one of my kind.

As much relief as I feel, I also feel the panic that comes with the responsibility. One doesn’t simply let their pack be separated. My inner beast agrees, urging me to go after her. To return my pack to the way it should be. How I didn’t see it sooner, I do not know. My inner beast is never quiet, and he has been about the humans. It should have been my first sign that something was wrong.

“I must go after her.” I say, my voice gravelly with the influence of my beast.

“I will keep the rest of them safe.” Rolcor murmurs, soothing any guilt I feel at leaving the rest behind. Something about the little human drives me to find her above all else. To bring her back to the safety of the warehouse. To provide what she would need.

Refusing to think about it further, I turn and dig my way out into the bright light of Earth’s morning. Snout pressed to the ground, I easily pick her scent up and follow it out of the clearing down into the surrounding trees. When I reach my scent barrier, the mark where my territory ends, I feel my panic for the little human rise. How had she gotten so far, so quickly? And why did she shout when stealth keeps you alive?

Running now, I follow her scent further, aware that other scents begin to mingle with it. There are others on her trail. In one place her scent gets stronger, as if she stands before me. Blood. Her blood glistens on the grass. In the distance I hear a gunshot ring out, loud in the quiet of the trees.

The sail along my spine rises with my anger and I feel the beast within me gain control, if only for a moment. A vicious howl rises from deep within me, reverberating through my chest until I feel like it rattles my entire soul. A cry torn straight from the mouth of my beast, driven by scent and blood.

My beast fully in control, her scent hits me like a raging Sscentar beast. It slams into me full force and despite my desperate grasps for control, my beast takes over, roaring his message to the sky repeatedly as he runs. Her scent drives him forward now, his roars warning anything that might hear his cry to not touch our little human. Our claws tear up the ground as we run, transforming into our true beastly form, a nightmare to be avoided at all costs.

A Memnar male at his strongest, his true form released when he finds the one who can free him from the bonds of civility and restraints of control placed upon him. A male on a mission willing to kill anything in his path. Anything that touches what is his will meet death with tooth and claw. Anyone who touches her.

“Mate.” My beast howls to the sky once more, and for once we merge as one, a new being. A stronger male on a mission.