Chapter 8

EIGHT

Zanner

I couldn't decide if this was great timing or terrible timing. We couldn't stay in the bunker anymore, so Taki desperately needed a rescue, but making it to the pickup point while being hunted by 005 in his crew was not my idea of a good time.

"Fuck," I growled.

Taki's big eyes stared up at me, and the trust shining in them squeezed my lungs so tight I could barely breathe.

I wanted that trust. No one had looked at me like that. Ever. I wanted to be her hero more than I wanted anything in my life. I wasn't under any delusions I could be by her side forever, but she was my mate after all—I'd stab my own heart if it meant she was safe.

005 and his crew were close to our bunker now, and I knew the moment he found it as he let out a roar of triumph before ripping the door off its hinges. I watched it fly through the air, remembering when I'd nailed the planks together and outfitted a hinge from scrap I'd found in the ash.

I turned away as they dropped inside one at a time with their weapons drawn. Gripping Taki's hand, I instructed her to run behind me. Her short height was to our advantage. She couldn't be seen over the top of the rock field we ran through. I ran at a crouch, intent on covering as much ground as we could.

"How much time do we have?" I asked as we ran.

She panted behind me. "Tomorrow at first full sun rise."

We had to make it through the night. One night . 005 was a skilled hunter, but he hadn't been able to find my bunker until now for a reason. I knew where to hide and how to cover my tracks. Although, this wasn't ideal as I'd had no preparation. Still, I was confident I could evade 005 at least until sunup. I'd get us to the pickup point tomorrow if it killed me. And likely… it would.

We had just reached the end of the rock field and slipped down into a valley when a loud cry went up from behind us. I knew that was the moment 005 had realized I wasn't in the bunker. But what I wasn't prepared for was the booming cry that could likely be heard on the entire land mass. " He has her! Find them! "

"How the fuck did he know?" I muttered to myself. And then I remembered how he'd smelled her blood and wiped it on a cloth that he kept around his neck. He was sniffing her out . I had sworn his claimed heightened sense of smell was a lie. Now, I wasn't so sure.

"We have to disguise your scent," I whispered to her as we picked our way through the narrow path between two large rock surfaces.

"How?" she asked.

There was really only one way, and it would be a little bit of a detour on our way to the pick-up point, but it was worth it. Once we covered her scent, we'd be able to get some rest before traveling the rest of the way to make it before the bottom of the sun met the horizon—first full sun.

We had to make a break for it now before 005 and his crew got any closer to our trail. I grabbed Taki's hand and took a hard left down a steep embankment of lava rock. At one point, she slipped, so I grabbed her, pressed her to my chest, and slid the rest of the way on my hip. My injuries from the wolpert fight throbbed, and I felt a trickle of blood leak down my thigh as my wound reopened. But I ignored the pain. A little bit of blood was the least of my problems if 005 caught up to me. My vettes throbbed with the closeness of my mate, and despite fleeing for our lives, my cock wasn't picking up on the distress. It wanted her heat and wasn't settled for the confines of my pants.

When we reached the base of the lava rock hill, I hit the ground on two feet and immediately began to run. Taki squirmed, so I let her down so she could run at my side. Her legs were much shorter than mine, but she was fast, especially with the boots and pants. Her dress, even altered, had billowed awkwardly and impeded her strides.

She ran with a single-minded focus, and even though I knew she was tired, she never complained or gave up. Xal wasn't a pretty planet. There was no scenic route. There were only stretches of ash, craters, and a complicated cave system.

As we drew closer to our destination, the air grew thicker. My eyes watered, and Taki covered her mouth to cough. But she didn't question me even as the stench of the siljur cavity burned our throats. No one ventured here, and I didn't want to be here, but it would be the safest place for Taki and me to hide until morning. We couldn't be caught in the open ash by 005. We'd never make it out alive.

Steam billowed from a crack in the ground, and I drew to a stop at the edge. Below, the siljur-tainted reservoirs bubbled. Here, the air was dangerous, but we just had to cross the chasm and then we'd be met with better air quality.

Taki bent over, coughing and wheezing. There was no way she'd make the jump on her own. I settled my hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. The pain in her eyes was like a stab in my heart. "We need to get across, and then it'll be better. I promise."

" I can't —" she heaved. "— breathe ."

My lungs weren't doing much better. "I'm going to throw you across."

Her liquid eyes went wide. " Throw ?"

My strength weakened with every inhale of this crappy air. We had to do this now. "Ready?"

"No!"

"I have to do it now, Taki." I pointed past the steam where cliffs rose in the distance. "We can rest there."

"Zanner!" She shrieked.

But I already had my hands on her waist. "Trust me." Muscles bunched, I hauled her in the air and tossed her over the chasm.

She flailed in the air but landed on the other side with room to spare. I followed after her, hitting the ground at her side as she was already climbing to her feet. Grabbing her hand, I yanked her away from the edge so we could get as far away as possible from the rancid siljur stench.

The caves weren't much farther, and I sped into an opening I visited once when I was a young and scared 032. I inhaled the musty air, which smelled as good as fresh compared to the siljur air.

I didn't stop until we reached a small alcove in one of the tunnels. I didn't want to settle in a dead end, in case 005 and his crew found us. That was one disadvantage of my bunker—there was no escape route. Here, I'd be able to see anyone coming from either direction. The tunnel was narrow, barely enough for both of us to fit, and the walls were damp.

Taki collapsed at my side, heaving deep breaths, and I felt guilty for pushing her so hard. I lay a hand on her back. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. Some of her silver hair had slipped from her head wrap. "It's fine. We had to get away. I just need…" she inhaled deeply. "A moment."

I tugged the sack off my back and pulled out our meager supplies. After draping the blanket on the ground and easing her down on it, I handed her water and some food. She took it gratefully and ate quickly. While I chewed some substitute protein butter that tasted like chalk, I wondered what kind of food she was used to. She'd never complained about the prison rations.

Her breathing was back to normal now, and she shot me a wobbly smile. "Well, that was an adventure."

"005 won't be able to follow our scent here. He'll look in the more obvious cave systems first."

"Who is he?"

I settled down next to her with my back against the wall. "No one knows for sure. He's created a bit of a legend around himself, but I'm sure he was a humian scraping to get by like the rest of us. He was probably sent here for theft."

"Sentenced here for something as petty as theft?"

I have her a look. I didn't want to have this conversation again. Many of the prisoners here either didn't commit crimes or committed something minor that had been upgraded to serious charges with no evidence.

She seemed to understand my desire to avoid talking about the injustice of it all. Her head dipped, silver hair falling down the sides of her face, as she twisted the necklace in the torchlight. "This necklace has been in my family for five generations. Do you think it was mined by an imprisoned Radian?"

I shook my head. "No, that was likely, or hopefully, mined in a more ethical way."

She frowned at it. "I have always been so proud of this…" Her lips twisted. "I really didn't know that the RCE discriminated. I knew that humians are treated differently but I didn't think it was a systemic issue. Or maybe… I didn't want to know." She winced.

"If we're treated badly out in the open, it's usually fair to assume they're doing it in private too in order to keep us under foot."

Her lips pressed together, and I didn't like to see her like this. She was a Radian female who had no hand in what had happened to me.

"Taki." I ducked my head to meet her eyes and gripped her chin loosely with my thumb and forefinger. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me. Don't feel guilty for a thing, understand?"

Her big eyes blinked. "It'll be different when we're off planet. I'll make sure you're rewarded. And I'll tell people what's really going on here. I promise."

Despair clawed at my chest. "Taki, I..." How did I tell her I had no intention of leaving? I couldn't leave, especially with a Radian female. I'd be shot on sight. This was why I hadn't wanted to seal our bonds. How could we survive the separation?

The words jammed in my throat, scraping the back of my tongue until I couldn't move it to utter a sound. She still stared at me expectantly until a slight rumble shook the ground.

Her arms clutched me, and I pressed her to my chest as the rumbling turned into a tremor. Dirt cascaded onto our heads as the tunnel shook all around us.

"What's going on?" she cried out.

"Xal-quake." I held her closer and glared at the tunnel, daring it to cave in around us. If it did, I'd dig us out with my bare hands. She wrapped her small body around me, nearly climbing me, and her breasts pressed against my chest.

I rubbed her back as her body trembled. Then, as soon as the quake had started, it faded until all was still. Taki sat straddling me with her head tucked into my neck. I could feel the shifting of her muscles beneath her shirt. Wet lips touched my neck. The air around us warmed, and the scent of her aroused suvette perfumed the air. I inhaled deeply. My cock, which apparently didn't even care about a Xal-quake, perked up from its semi-hard state. But this was terrible timing. We were on the run from a violent gang and stuck in a cave. We had to keep our wits about us.

"Taki," I murmured. "Wait."

My mate ignored me. Maybe this was a result of cooling adrenaline because her vettes flashed red, and her hips rolled against me. The heat of her suvette coated my cock through my pants, and I moaned.

Taki

I couldn't stop touching him. Now that we weren't running for our lives, the mate frenzy I'd heard so much about was kicking in. I wished we had all the time and safety in the world to explore each other's bodies. We'd have that later, when we were rescued and soaring away from this desolate planet. My lips slid up his neck to his mouth. As our lips fused together, our pants were discarded until I straddled Zanner naked. My slick suvette began to swallow the tip of his cock.

As I took him inside my body, I threw my head back, and he immediately latched onto the tender skin of my left upper breast and sucked on a patch of skin. The smell of my slickness filled the air, chasing away the lingering smells of that chasm and the mustiness of the tunnels.

"Fuck," Zanner groaned against the base of my throat. I liked his cursing mouth.

His hips bucked up, and his cock plunged deeper inside of me. My walls clenched around him, gripping him tight and securing him inside of me until he could release his seed.

He held my shoulders as he thrust up again and again. I tried to meet his thrusts with downward bounces of my own, but he was so powerful that soon all I could do was cling to him as he plunged into me with a single-minded focus. My inner thigh vettes burned and turned sticky with our sealing bonds. I cried out as my inner walls rippled around his thick cock.

When my climax hit me, I dug my fingers into his shoulders until his skin went white. He growled like an animal, and the sound rumbled through me like a Xal-quake, prolonging my climax as I bucked against him, all rhythm lost. His teeth clenched down on my neck as he splashed his hot seed inside of me. I panted as I clutched his head to my throat and continued to shake with the after-effects of my climax.

Panting, I refused to let go, even as Zanner tipped us to the side so we could remain connected as we lay down. His green eyes held mine, and the muscles of his face lost all tension as he gazed at me. Fingers plucked at my hair, brushing it from my forehead and away from my sensitive ears.

I remained drowsy, body clenching on his cock periodically, until finally my suvette let him go. He slipped from my body but remained pressed against me.

With Tauran, I had been resigned to a life where I'd have to grow to tolerate my behooval. I wasn't optimistic of my affections going much higher than that. My mate bond with Zanner was like nothing I'd ever thought I'd experience. This was why Radian females were told to trust their vettes. For once, my future felt full of possibilities if Zanner was at my side.

"Sleep," my mate whispered. "We need to be ready tomorrow."

I nodded and cuddled against his chest. The smell of our mating surrounded us, and with that pleasant scent in my nose, I drifted off to sleep.

When I woke, Zanner was already dressed and repacking his sack. I rubbed my eyes and sat up to find a small ration of food as my morning meal. After eating it, I dressed myself and folded the blanket. Once Zanner stuffed it into his pack, the only clues we were ever in the tunnel were our smells.

He stepped forward and gripped my hand, dark brows furrowed. "We're going to head right to the rescue site. I checked your watch, and they're on schedule to arrive on time. I don't want to get there too early because we'll be sitting ducks in the open field."

I didn't understand "Sitting ducks?"

He smiled briefly. "Earth expression my mother used to say. It means we're easy prey without protection."

"Oh," I whispered softly. "That's not good."

"No, but we should be okay. Let's leave now, keep a good pace, and we'll get there about the time the rescue cruiser arrives."

The way he recited the plan, it all sounded so easy, but I was already aware that nothing on Xal was as easy as it seemed. Still, I had Zanner at my side, so this would work out. It had to. My vettes chose him.

We left the tunnels, crossed the chasm again—this time I was much less scared when he threw me—and climbed up the lava rock hill. Already my legs ached, and my shoulders burned. I already wanted more food, but I knew I had to push on. I couldn't be the reason we didn't get off this planet. I was already thinking of the phone call I would make to my sire. He had enough connections in the RCE that I knew he'd be able to get Zanner a pardon. Zanner saved me, and that had to be enough.

The sun had just peeked over the horizon with a gold red hue, and the air shimmered with heat. We sped across the ashy ground toward the rescue zone, which Zanner said was past the bath caves and sat on top of several mines that had been abandoned when the tunnels caved in. That made me shiver, because how close had we come to that happening to us?

The sun continued to rise, and we kept the pace as the land flattened into a dull plain of gray ground. Our feet pounded the ash, and just when I began to feel like I couldn't run anymore, Zanner pointed at the sky.

With smoky streaks in its wake, a dark winged soared toward us. Barely a dot at first, the shape slowly began to grow and grow as it descended toward the surface.

My energy now renewed, I ran harder. I glanced at Zanner out of the corner of my eye, and although I expected excitement in his gaze, I saw nothing but cold, hard determination. He wouldn't rest until we were safely inside. I knew him enough to know that.

Suddenly a clanging reached my ears. They twitched at the clash of sound, but what followed sent a chill down my spine—the whooping cry of 005 and his crew.

"Fuck," Zanner spat out.

Running toward us from our left was a band of figures. Moving at a rapid speed, they sought to cut us off before we reached the rescue site. The cruiser continued to descend, close enough I could see the landing gear emerge from the belly of the aircraft. The other prisoners saw it too, and that sent them into a frenzy. They shook their weapons and shouted in bone-chilling tones.

Some of the crew couldn't run as fast, and they fell behind. Leading the way were three prisoners who looked to be humian like Zanner, and one of them was 005.

Zanner's head swung from the rescue site to the incoming gang, and I struggled to keep up with his pounding sprint. A desperate cry wrenched up my throat as ashy dirt below the cruiser swirled and scatted underneath the landing thrusters.

We were close, so close, but 005 was bearing down on us … and he'd reach us before we could meet the cruiser.

Zanner wrenched his hand free of mine, and I stumbled. "Keep going!" He shouted.

I whirled around, still moving forward with shuffling steps. "What?"

"Move!" He screamed at me, eyes blazing. In each hand, he clutched blades and his face was a mask of rage and panic. "Keep going. You must get to the cruiser. I'll slow them down."

I shook my head frantically. " No , you have to come."

Something flashed in his eyes. "I will. You need to get there first." His throat bobbed as he spun the knives in his hands. "Be well, princess."

He turned on a heel and ran to meet 005. For a moment I almost took off after him. I felt an invisible rope tugging me toward my mate, but my brain kicked in. He had told me what to do, and I had to trust him. So I lurched forward in the direction of the cruiser, every step painful as I separated from my mate. But he'd come soon. He promised me. All I had to do was tell the rescue crew to help Zanner. They'd have weapons… good ones.

The cruiser jolted down on the ground, sending a cascade of ashy dust in my face. Covering my eyes, I surged forward. I heard a roar that was unmistakably Zanner's voice before a sickening thud reached my ears. I whirled toward the sound of clanging weapons, but the dust was everywhere. I couldn't see him or anyone. I could barely see the cruiser. "Zanner!" I cried out, but of course there was no answer. Only more grunts. Cries. Thuds.

I inhaled dust, and my body protested. Coughing, eyes watering, I staggered forward. The dust slowly cleared, and I found myself standing in front of a massive black cruiser. With a hiss, the back hatch lowered, and I nearly wept with relief as a figure stood at the top of the ramp.

"You must help my mate," I gasped out as my lungs burned. "He's?—"

My voice died in my throat as the figure took a step down the ramp, and his face came into view.

I blinked at him. "Tauran?"

He didn't smile. He didn't even act like he recognized me. He shook his head. "How are you still alive, Tak?"

I must have looked a mess—wearing odd clothes and covered in ash. But he made no move to help me into the rescue cruiser. If anything he looked… irritated. And I didn't like the way he shortened my name. He didn't have that right anymore.

"I'm not sure why you're with the rescue crew, but please Tauran, you must help my—Zanner. You must help him."

I peered through the ashy cloud to see figures battling. Two were on the ground, but I recognized the back of Zanner as he fought with 005. I reached for Tauran. "Give me a gun. A weapon. Something!"

I ran to him, but he laid one hand against my chest and shoved me back. I stumbled on the ramp, my foot catching on one of the planks, before I fell back onto the Xal surface with a grunt.

I stared up at Tauran, and I saw in his wicked eyes a male I'd never seen before. Maybe he had been this male all along. He looked down his nose at me. "I told your sire I would come rescue you, but I never had any intention of that. Even if you didn't smell like humian." His lip curled back into a sneer, "I needed the light path records to prove to your father that I tried. So, I'm here. I tried ." He lifted his hand, and in his grip was a vapor gun. One shot of that and I'd be nothing but dust blowing on Xal's surface.

Still on my back, I froze. Terror clawed at my throat. "I don't… why?"

"If you die as my behooval, it's like we were mated. I'll get all the benefits of being part of your sire's family, but I won't have to deal with you." He chuckled darkly. "What do the Earth humans say? It's a win-win ."

This was all going so wrong. I could hear Zanner's grunts of pain and 005's growls. The ground shook as the rest of the gang drew closer. Soon, Zanner would be outnumbered.

Despair seized my lungs. My vettes chilled. My hand closed around a lava rock amid the ash. With the last breath I could exhale from my lungs, I threw my head back and shouted, "Zanner!"

A roar shook the ground, and a set of footsteps pounded toward me. Alarmed, Tauran swung the gun toward the approaching figure as it materialized in the dust cloud.

Taking advantage of Taurus's distraction, I hurled the lava rock at him. It hit his head, and he stumbled back with a cry just as Zanner leapt through the dust to land at my side. 005 was on his heels, and the rest of the crew wasn't far behind.

Bleeding from a gash in his head, Tauran whirled around, but this time he didn't have the gun. This time, he had a vikil bomb, which rendered any species with human genes unconscious.

Zanner's eyes widened as Tauran flipped the switch on the bomb and tossed it at the bottom of the ramp. 005 scrambled back, but it was too late. The vikil steam poured out of the bomb in a thick white smoke. Zanner grabbed for me, and I clutched him back, but his eyes were already rolling into the back of his head. "No!" I choked out just as Tauran's hands closed around me from behind. Struggling in his grip, I rolled on my back. He stood above me, vapor gun in both hands, the tip pointed at my head. "Goodbye Taki."

I grasped Zanner's hand, and he squeezed it back quickly as he whispered three words, "I'm sorry, princess."

Suddenly a dark form flew through the air and slammed into Tauran. An Erushik, one of 005's crew, landed on top of Tauran. Its head descended, and it opened up its big, fanged mouth to latch onto Tauran's shoulder. He screamed as blood spurted, and I rolled away from the carnage. Erushik weren't too bright. They were likely given the order to kill any male around me, and they would.

Zanner moaned softly. 005 hands flexed in the dirt as he tried to fight the effects of the vikil. Grabbing Zanner under his arms, I threw my weight back as I pulled him up the cruiser ramp. As dead weight, he was beyond heavy, and I felt every muscle in my body strain as I heaved him into the rescue vehicle. Tauran's screams continued to fill the air until they eventually faded to a dying gurgle. I refused to let myself think too hard about what the Erushik did to him.

Once Zanner was safely inside, I slammed the button to close the ramp. It let out a screech and then halted. I slammed it again, and something in the landing gear began smoking.

"Fe-male," an eerie voice hissed. At the bottom of the ramp was a nearly comatose 005, but he wasn't giving up. Dragging his limp body with one hand, he rested on the bottom of the ramp, eerie eyes latched onto me.

I had reached my breaking point. My mate was knocked out, I'd nearly been killed, I had to listen to my ex-behooval get eaten, and now this jerk was messing with my life? Oh no. I was done .

I marched down to the bottom of the ramp and planted my foot right on his forehead. His hand scrabbled at my leg weakly, but he was too affected by the vikil to do much. With a kick, I sent him skidding back off the ramp.

When I pressed the button next, it slid closed without a protest. I raced to the cockpit of the cruiser and stared at the control panel of buttons. Panicking, I realized I had no idea how to get this thing off the ground, let alone pointed in the right direction.

Suddenly a voice squawked through a speaker, the tone robotic. "Tauran Pekin, we detected a ramp closure. Are you ready for your return flight to Radix?"

For the first time since I fell asleep in Zanner's arms, I smiled. "Yes, please."

"Launching in five… four… three…"