Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Regan

“C ome on, handsome.” The little female pulled on my arm and cursed when I fell against her. She had the lush, full body I loved, but my weight still drove her into the wall.

“Krono,” I muttered, “I am sorry, human.”

“It’s fine,” she puffed as I staggered straight. “Let’s go, okay? My apartment is close to here.”

She slid her arm around my waist and guided me across the bar.

“I will not give you juice for sex,” I said as we stumbled awkwardly toward the exit. I had drunk too much of the human’s terrible tasting drink, and my limbs no longer seemed to function correctly, and my brain was as fuzzy as a maluken.

“Yeah, okay,” she said.

Her eagerness to fuck without getting juice set off an alarm in my brain, but I wasn’t clear-headed enough to heed it. Or maybe my focus was too much on how badly I wanted to be in a snug, wet pussy, even if I wasn’t all that attracted to this particular female.

We staggered closer to the exit, and as the female reached out to push the door open, her scent wafted over me. I wrinkled my nose at the smell of sour sweat that clung to her.

She led me outside to the sidewalk, and my stomach heaved at the various scents that assaulted me as, despite the late hour, a group of six humans pushed past us in a sweaty wave. Krono, did no one bathe on this Earth state?

“Why do you have a translator?” I asked.

“Oh, uh, got one through work. Come on,” the little female said, tugging me down the sidewalk with her tiny hand around my wrist. I staggered after her, my head pounding and my stomach threatening to vomit everything I’d drank. We were now the only ones on the street. Not a single land vehicle drove by, nor was the sky filled with the roar of havoc cruisers. The cloying heat surrounded us, and sweat dripped down my back. It was the cold season on Draax, and I thought longingly of my planet's crisp, cold air and clean smells. We passed a narrow alley shrouded in darkness, and I ground to a halt when I heard the sharp, pain-filled cry of a woman.

The female pulled harder on my hand. “C’mon.”

I shook free of her and started down the alley. She sighed with frustration and followed me as another cry emerged from the darkness.

I snarled when I saw the human male. He held a female against the building wall with his hand around her throat, and he slapped her hard across the face before reaching for the bag slung across her body. “Stop fighting me, you stupid bitch. I saw those dumb green motherfuckers give you three flasks of the juice, and you didn’t even have to suck their cocks to get it.”

I could understand him clearly, which meant he had a translator. Good, he would have no trouble understanding me when I threatened to kill him.

The little female kicked at him, her words perfectly understandable as well. “Fuck you, Mitchell!”

He slapped her again when she connected with his kneecap. “Fuck, that hurt! Just stay still, you fat whore and maybe I won’t beat the shit out of you.”

He reached for her bag again as she clawed at the hand around her throat. My rage so thick I could barely speak, I growled, “Let the little female go.”

The woman behind me clutched at my arm. “C’mon, this isn’t our business.”

I turned to stare at her, my anger with the male human and disgust with her written clearly on my face.

She dropped my arm like it was as hot as keo and stumbled back as the human male, keeping his grip on the little female, stared at us. “What the fuck, Crystal? I told you to take that drunk asshole to your apartment and give him more beer until the fucker was out. You can’t fucking take his shit if he’s still conscious, you bitch.”

He was missing his two front teeth, and I could smell his body odour and the stale smell of the human’s beer drink. My nose wrinkled as he sneered at Crystal. “Get the fuck out of here. You’re useless as tits on a bull, for fuck’s sake.”

Crystal turned and fled toward the alley opening, disappearing into the dark. I studied the human male. He still hadn’t released the female, and I stepped forward, my hand falling to my sword. “Let her go. I will not ask you again.”

He released her, backing away as the little female coughed and gagged. She sank to her butt on the ground, one hand on her throat and the other on her chest. I could hear her breath whistling in and out of her lungs from where I stood, and my anger grew brighter.

“You dare to hurt one of the little females? They are precious,” I said.

The male curled his lip at me. “Fuck off, you big green dope. This ain’t any of your business.”

“Protecting the small one is my business,” I said.

“Fucking asshole aliens,” the man sneered. “You think you’re such hot shit. You come to our planet and fucking steal our women. As if brainwashing them into having your babies and staying on your shithole planet isn’t bad enough, you show up at our bars waving your dicks and the juice around. You take away any chance a good guy like me has at fucking one of these dumb sluts.”

I ignored his insults. The little female still struggled to breathe, and I watched as she fumbled a flask from her purse and drank from it.

“Leave now, and I will not hurt you,” I said.

The man barked harsh laughter, and the little female gasped when he pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at me. I studied the weapon. I had never seen one in real life before, but I’d watched holograms of them being used by humans. They fired metal balls called bullets that could pierce skin and damage organs.

Despite knowing what they could do, I wasn’t afraid. Why should I be? Our skin was thicker and tougher than the fragile human males. No doubt the bullets would not even pierce my skin.

“You know what this is, asshole?” The man waved the gun at me. “I could kill you with this, so why don’t you mind your business and get the fuck out of here before I shoot you in the fucking guts.”

The bloodlust roared through me, and I grinned fiercely. “Do you challenge me then, human?”

He blinked at me, his eyes widening when I drew my sword from its sheath around my waist. “I look forward to our fight, human.”

“Fuck you,” he said.

There was a loud popping sound and a burning in my stomach. I glanced down, staring in surprise at the blood blooming through my white shirt. The little female screamed breathlessly, and I looked up to see the human male only inches from me. His face a combination of fear and anger, he pointed the gun at my midsection, and three more bangs hurt my ears. Fresh fire burned in my belly, and hot blood soaked my shirt.

“How do you like that, asshole?” Mitchell laughed loudly, the hysterical hint of fear it carried as annoying to me as the popping sound of his gun.

He raised the gun and pointed it at my face. “Now, I’m gonna blow your brains out and see if they look like human brains or -”

His eyes widened, and a small whine escaped his lips. He looked down to see my sword buried deep in his belly, and he cocked his head, staring at me in confusion. “You stabbed me, man.”

I shoved my sword in deeper and twisted it. He screamed a high-pitched, breathless sound that echoed in the alley. I yanked my sword free and watched with disinterest as the man stumbled back, dropping the gun on the ground. He fell on his ass with his hands pressed against his bleeding stomach. Bright red blood dripped down his side to pool on the ground, and I wiped my sword on my pant leg and returned it to its sheath.

I turned toward the small female, holding out my hand. “Come to me, small one. I will not hurt you.”

She remained where she was, her eyes wide and her hands holding her bag against her body. I stepped toward her, grimacing in surprise at the weakness in my legs before I fell to my knees.

I was lightheaded, and my body shook as I lifted my shirt. Blood flowed from the four holes in my abdomen, and pain rocketed through my body, making it shake. I touched my stomach, grimacing at the fresh agony before studying the bright green blood on my fingertips.

“Mister, are you okay?” The little female stood before me, and I stared up at her as darkness crept around the edges of my vision.

“Shit, Lomax, that was a fucking stupid question. He’s been shot,” the little female muttered.

I swayed on my knees, and with a slight grunt, she caught me, supporting my weight against her thighs as she fumbled in her bag.

“Here, drink this.” She pressed a flask against my lips, and I drank the sweet gallberry juice until the flask drained dry. She dropped the flask into her purse and pressed a second to my mouth. I drank it empty, and while it didn’t do much for the pain, I no longer felt lightheaded or on the verge of passing out.

“Can you stand?” She stared at the body of the male behind me. “Christ, he’s dead. You killed a human.”

“He was attacking you,” I said as, using the building wall for support, I heaved myself to my feet, swaying back and forth when a wave of dizziness washed over me.

“Yeah, well, trust me when I say the cops aren’t going to care that you saved the life of a lower. They’ll put you in prison and fry you if they catch you.”

“They can try,” I said before spitting out a mouthful of blood.

She winced and rubbed at her chest. The shrill sound of alarms could be heard in the distance, and her face became even paler. “We need to get out of here right now. Someone’s called the cops.”

She studied me. “Can you walk? I’m not strong enough to support you. My heart is… it’s bad right now. I live a few blocks from here. Can you make it?”

“I can make it,” I said.

“We have to be quick,” she said.

I nodded, and gritting my teeth against the agony in my belly, I followed her out of the alley and down the sidewalk. The street was still empty, and I focused on the little female’s back as she walked down the street.

Every step was agony in my guts, and when I felt dizzy again, I immediately slapped myself across the face. She glanced at me, wincing when she stared at my stomach. “Christ, there’s so much blood.”

“I am fine. Keep going,” I said.

I was lying. I had maybe another few minutes of walking in me before my legs collapsed. Gritting my teeth, I struggled to stay conscious as we turned right, and the woman said. “There. It’s that building there. Only a few more steps, okay?”

She took my arm, one hand still pressed against her chest and gave me a coaxing look. “You can do it, big guy. Just stay conscious, okay?”

“Okay,” I said.

Slowly, we made our way to her building. It rose into the sky, and I blinked at its sheer size before saying, “Your home is enormous.”

“It’s an apartment building,” she said.

“I do not know what that is,” I said as my ears rang, and I blinked back the darkness that was returning.

“Multiple homes on every floor.”

“It is an annaken,” I said, my voice thin and reedy. “We have them on my planet.”

“Sure, yeah, whatever you call it on Draax. I’m on the first floor, so we don’t have to climb stairs, okay?”

She opened the door and took my hand, gripping it in her small one as we walked through the foyer to another door. It opened into a hallway, and I wrinkled my nose in disgust. “What is that smell?”

“Adam down the hallway likes to make his own folgen weed. It stinks up the entire floor,” she said as she stopped at a door with a metal four on it and used a key to open it. “C’mon, get inside before someone sees you.”

She practically pushed me through the doorway, and I grabbed at the wall, trying to breathe through the pain radiating from my stomach into my chest as she shut the door behind me.

“Hey,” she said, poking me in the back. “Keep moving.”

“Tired,” I said. “Hurts.”

“I know.” Sympathy laced her voice. “But I just need you to take a few more steps to my bed. Please? Can you try?”

“Yes,” I said. Blood had turned my shirt into a soggy, dripping mess, and I grimaced as I staggered into the one room quarters. A bed was pushed against one wall, and I stumbled and limped toward it as the darkness curled at my vision.

I collapsed on her small bed, my sword smacking against my hip and my feet hanging over the end as the little female took a third flask from her bag before dropping the bag on the floor. She took a quick swig and then lifted my shirt, studying my abdomen as her face blanched. “Fuck, I need to stop the bleeding. Here, drink some more of this.”

She held the flask to my mouth, and I drank eagerly. The pain eased a little, and I licked the last drops from the flask. “I need more, small one.”

“I know,” she said. “But I only have a quarter of a flask left, and I…”

I squinted at her. “What?”

“Nothing, it doesn’t matter.” She walked the few steps to the kitchen and returned with another flask. As she said, this one was nearly empty, but I drank the few swallows that were left and closed my eyes.

“Is the pain better?” she asked.

“A little,” I lied.

“I think the bleeding is slowing down.” Her soft hand touched my stomach before she leaned over me. Her scent was wonderful, a sweet smell that reminded me of an Earth food I had once tried.

“You smell good,” I mumbled.

“Do you have a Draax phone or something I can use to hologram your friends?” she asked. “Are you here with anyone?”

I shook my head, and she said, “Where’s your phone?”

“Vertex,” I muttered. “It is called a vertex.”

She sighed impatiently. “Okay, fine, where is your vertex?”

“With my ship.”

“Shit.” She chewed at her bottom lip before saying, “Are you from the west province?”

“East,” I said.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” she said.

I didn’t reply as another wave of pain bit at my belly.

“I don’t think the gallberry juice is enough,” she said. “I need to call an ambulance. They’ll give you more juice and get you in contact with your planet.”

I shook my head, gripping her wrist tightly. “You cannot do that, human. If my king discovers I am here, he will imprison me for life.”

“It’s better than dying,” she said.

I stared steadily at her. “It is not. Please, sweet female, my king cannot know. Promise me you will not call my kind.”

“Buddy, you are asking me to let you die in my apartment,” she said.

“I just need a little more gallberry juice,” I said. “If you can get me some, I will leave, and you will never see me again.”

“I don’t think it’ll be enough,” she said.

“Promise me, small one.” Despite my pain, I gathered the last of my fading energy, making my voice strong.

“Fine, I promise. But I’ll be so mad at you if you die in my damn bed,” she said.

“Will not die,” I slurred. “Get more juice.”

“You’re dying right now.” Her voice came from a great distance, and I tried to focus, but the pain demanded all of my attention now.

“Hey, don’t pass out.” She patted me lightly on the cheek as the darkness grew. “Stay awake, okay? What’s your name?

“Regan,” I said before the darkness claimed me.