Chapter 2

Lavender

He was so big.So naked. So very, very naked.

Nope. Not happening. He was good looking, as Atlans went. But I felt nothing for him. Nothing. Didn’t mean I didn’t admire a fine male specimen, but no. Not for me.

He laughed. Was he laughing at me? Because I was embarrassed? Or because he truly thought something about this insane situation was funny? Was he right in the head?

Doctor Surnen cleared his throat. “She’s fine. There was bruising around the restraints, but I?—”

He moved before I could blink. So fast. Kai cradled my hands in his, inspecting the skin the doctor had healed with his glowing, magic wand thing.

“—ran the ReGen wand over them and they healed nicely.”

Was he trembling? Why didn’t he let go? I pulled my hands free and looked up at him. “Listen, Warlord Kai. That’s your name?”

“Indeed.” He was staring at me. Not blinking. Like he couldn’t look away. So not good.

“I appreciate you showing up like you did. Those Hive guys were scary, and they kept threatening me. I think they might have killed me. I don’t know.”

He growled like a wild animal. I’d heard him make that sound in the apartment, right before he killed one of the Hive guys. Scary. Somehow, the fact that his huge, erect penis was bobbing right in front of me didn’t make the growl less feral. Was he going to pounce on me? Try to seduce me? He was definitely getting worked up.

“God.” I lifted my hand to block my view of his privates. Who could have a conversation like this? Didn’t being bare-ass naked bother him at all? I mean, there were three other guys in the room. “Can you put on some pants? I can’t have a conversation like this.”

“I am yours.”

Well, hell. What did that mean? He wasn’t embarrassed because, by his standards, his cock was mine? Strangely charming sentiment, but also weird. I lowered my hand but refused to look… down. I held his gaze. “Okay. Listen. There’s been a mistake. I don’t know anything about any pictures. I don’t know you. You need to take me home.”

He stared at my lips. His nose twitched and his gaze rose once more to meet mine. He took a deep breathe. From my peripheral vision I noticed his body reacted. For some reason, he lost his erection. He went limp. He was still huge, but he’d lost interest. Should I be happy about that or insulted? Whatever. Maybe he’d let me go home. I knew this was a mistake. Knew it. Said it. None of these guys had listened to me.

“What have you done to her?” Accusation in his tone, he practically snarled at the doctor.

I thought the doc would be intimidated. Instead, he crossed his arms and stared right back, eyebrow raised. “Warlord Kai, I have done nothing. Your mate is in perfect health, a bit underfed perhaps, but?—”

Underfed? “Hey! That’s rude. I’m sitting right here.”

“—But, other than using the ReGen wand to heal the bruises on her wrists and ankles, she has not been treated.”

“Then how has her scent been altered?” My scent? What was Kai talking about?

“I assure you, I have done nothing.” Doctor Surnen’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps I should run some additional diagnostics.”

“Yes. My beast insists something is not right.” Kai grunted, went to an alien station in the corner and made himself some black pants. He shoved them on while the doctor waved his magic wand all around me again, head to toe.

I was fine. I knew it. He knew it. Kai came back over and stared down at me. “May I?”

“May you what?”

“I need to scent you.”

I shrugged. Could these guys get any weirder? Maybe this Atlan was finally figuring out what I’d been saying for the last few hours was true. He had the wrong girl. “Sure. Why not. If it’ll make you cavemen actually listen to me.”

He leaned in and sniffed my neck. I closed my eyes and held perfectly still.

Boom!

What was that?

Boom! Boom! Boom! The walls shook with the force of mighty blows.

A male voice came through their speaker system. “Doctor, Warlord Tazo demands entry.”

Great. Another one?

“What is going on?” The doctor turned to Governor Maxim, who shrugged.

“Let him in before he breaks another fucking door.” Doctor Surnen sounded annoyed by the interruption. Kai moved away and stood between me and the door like a noble knight protecting his lady. Too bad I didn’t feel anything for him. He seemed like a nice enough alien.

I wrapped the green blanket more tightly around my shoulders and leaned to the side so I could peak around Warlord Kai’s large frame. The door slid open to reveal another Atlan, this one clearly in full beast mode. He looked ready to kill everyone in the room.

The governor and Rice-man both pulled blasters, but it was Maxim who addressed the enraged beast. “Tazo, stand down.”

I couldn’t see Kai’s face, but his voice was deadly serious. “His mating fever is out of control. He might not respond.” Before he finished speaking, he started to change. I watched as the muscles and bones of his bare back and shoulders cracked and expanded. He grew taller. Wider. He turned into his beast.

Were they going to fight? Was this new warlord really going to attack all of us? I looked over the newcomer and focused on hiding my reaction because holy shit, he was gorgeous. Dark auburn hair, tanned skin, and dark blue eyes the color of storm clouds. His jaw was cut like a god’s, his brow arched and regal. He looked like a prince, an ancient god, a warrior without equal. Everything about him made my body react. He was huge, like Kai and the others, but for some reason I could not look away, couldn’t stop admiring the smooth movement of muscle under his black pants and shirt. He wasn’t wearing armor and his clothes clung to his frame like liquid silk. After seeing Kai naked, I didn’t have to use much imagination to know what was underneath those clothes.

Why was he here? Why did he try to pound down the door? I was so confused.

Warlord Tazo ignored the Prillons and glared at Kai, a challenge clear in his eyes. “Mine!”

What?Was this second Atlan trying to say I was his mate? This had to be a joke, right? “Of course there’s another one. God. What is happening? You’re all crazy. I need to go home.” Enough. None of them were listening to me. My sister was in danger. And now there was another Atlan beast joining the party? I didn’t care how sexy this beast was, how badly I wanted someone to wrap me in their arms and tell me everything was going to be all right. I’d been attacked, interrogated, watched a battle play out in my living room complete with blood, gore and a pile of dead bodies, been kidnapped, taken to another planet, inspected and interrogated some more by huge alien males who wouldn’t listen, and ordered to stay put and wait, wait, wait while my sister could be back home being killed by those Hive things. No more. Done. I was out of here. Fuck all these idiots.

I hopped off the medical bed. My bare feet hit the cold, smooth floor and I walked toward the door. Warlord Kai’s arm came down to block me, his forearm crossed my chest and his hand wrapped around my far shoulder to stop me in my tracks.

“My lady, stay back. He is in a killing mood and not thinking clearly.”

Warlord Tazo lost his shit the second Kai touched me. “Mine!”

Kai charged.

Kai’s movement sent me hurtling toward the doctor, who wrapped me in his arms and spun around so I couldn’t see anything. The move was so sudden, a shocked squeal erupted from my throat.

Body slammed into body, the sound making me cringe. So much power. So much weight. The beasts had to be fighting. I squirmed, quietly demanding to be put down when a loud crashing noise exploded in the room.

Able to move a little, at least, I turned as the governor and his friend moved into place in front of me and the doctor as a first line of defense. They had their weapons out, ready to shoot.

Was this new beast trying to kill me, too? Why did they think they needed to protect me from him if he thought I was his mate? None of this made any sense.

There was a large, crushed section of one wall and the two beasts grappled and punched one another. I’d never seen anything so big move so fast.

“Gods be damned. Fucking beasts.” The governor grumbled. I ignored him. I couldn’t take my eyes off the giant beast who seemed intent on killing Kai.

Warlord Tazo’s fist slammed into Kai’s face. Kai pulled him off the wall and tried to tackle Tazo, get him on the ground. Tazo flipped him, landed on top and started pummeling Kai with his fist.

They rolled. Kai wrapped Tazo in his thighs and punched him. The two struggled, ranging around the small space until they crashed into the medical bed I’d been sitting on. The bed-like table hurtled toward me. I screamed, tried to jump out of the way. The doctor lifted me off my feet as the heavy metal structure gouged a hole in the wall where, seconds ago, I’d been standing.

Warlord Tazo’s gaze darted to me for less than a second, as if making sure I was not hurt, then focused on Kai once more. “Mine! Kill you!”

“Tazo! Stop!” Kai yelled at him.

“Mate! Mine!” Tazo’s shout turned into a roar and he slammed his knee into Kai’s gut.

“Fuck! Stop!” Kai tried to reason with him. It didn’t work. Tazo shoved, sent Kai reeling until his back came to rest against the overturned hospital bed.

“Miiiiine!” Tazo leaped on top of him.

Kai wedged his legs between them and heaved. Tazo went flying across the room. His back made a giant dent in the wall when he hit. The governor cursed.

I thought the impact would knock Tazo out. Nope. He landed in a crouch and looked up at Kai with pure death in his eyes.

Kai moved slowly, palms out. When Tazo didn’t attack, he shifted back into his normal, non-beastly, size. “Tazo, the female is not in danger. She is here for a medical evaluation after a Hive attack. Stand down.”

“Hive?” Tazo stood but didn’t charge. Thank god. All the adrenaline from the Hive attack earlier came crashing through me and I was right back in my living room afraid they were going to kill me. I couldn’t stop shaking. I wrapped the blanket tighter around me and hid my hands inside so no one would see the tremors. “Kill Hive. Where?”

“I already killed them. They attacked her on Earth. I brought her here, to The Colony. Doctor Surnen tended to her. She is here for medical treatment. That is all.”

What was happening here? Why was Kai explaining anything to this guy?

Warlord Tazo apparently decided he wasn’t going to kill Kai after all and turned to the doctor. “Hurt?”

Doctor Surnen cleared his throat. “Miss Linton suffered bruising around her wrists and ankles from the Hive restraints. The ReGen wand healed them quite easily. She is in perfect health.”

Tazo growled like he was about to kill something. “Hive.”

“Dead,” Kai insisted.

“How many?”

“Three soldiers.”

“Soldiers!” Tazo’s roar startled me. Here I thought he was calming down. Apparently not. Before I could blink, Tazo marched over to me and dropped on one knee, bowed his head briefly, and then looked into my eyes. Even on his knees he was nearly as tall as I.

“Warlord Tazo. Mate. Mine.”

Was this some kind of joke? First Kai and now this one? How could two of them think I was their mate? Although, I had to admit, Tazo made my heart race and my fingers ache to run through his dark auburn hair. I wanted to touch him. He was so close. All I had to do was reach out. What would happen if I did? Were these maniacs going to try to force me to stay on this planet?

I curled my fingers into a fist and looked around the room. All the other males seemed to be waiting to see what I would do.

Warlord Kai nodded his head in Tazo’s direction, not at all perturbed by nearly having his head smashed in just a few minutes ago in their fight. “He believes you are his mate, Larkspur Linton of Earth.”

Larkspur.He called me Larkspur. Suddenly, everything made more sense. The Hive back in my apartment had it all wrong. These guys had it all wrong. “I’ve been trying to tell you, I’m Lavender. Larkspur is my older sister. We’re only a year apart and we look a lot alike. God! You guys need to listen. Larkspur. Lavender. Okay? My mom’s name was Lily and she had a thing for flowers. You’ve got the wrong girl. I don’t take pictures. I’m a vet tech. I work with animals.”

“You smell like Larkspur.” Kai seemed confused.

I smelled like her? What were these guys? Dogs? Guess he could have confused us. I was wearing my sister’s nightie. “We live together in that shitty little apartment. I borrowed her nightie. I didn’t have any clean clothes, so I raided her closet. We share clothes all the time.”

His expression changed instantly and his beast came back out in the blink of an eye. Holy crap.

“Where? Larkspur?” Kai demanded in what I was beginning to think of as beast-speak. He might was well have said, ‘Hulk smash.’

At last, they were finally listening to me. My sister was in danger. Serious trouble, if those Hive were after her. “She works nights at the same vet clinic I do. That’s why I asked what time it is on Earth. She’s going to go home and see all the blood. She’s going to freak. And what about the new ones? The Hive things that got there right before you zapped me into outer space? What if they’re still in our apartment? What if they go look for her at work? I don’t know you people. I’m sure your beasts will try to find her, but what if they can’t? What if she doesn’t go straight home after work? What if she goes to the store or something? Will the Hive guys try to kill her in public?”

“They have no regard for human rules, nor do they fear being seen.” Doctor Surnen’s tone was bleak and a shiver of dread raced over my skin.

I had to get to her. Warn her. “There are too many things that can go wrong. I need to go home.”

“Where?” Kai’s big ‘ol beast demanded. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was angry with me. I knew the truth though, he was angry with himself for mistaking me for my sister.

Warlord Tazo scowled at Kai’s tone and rose to his feet. This time he placed his body between me and Kai, protecting me from the Atlan who originally saved my life and brought me here in the first place. So confusing. Didn’t mean I didn’t admire Tazo’s broad back, tight ass, rock hard thighs. He was a living, breathing work of art. But I didn’t need protection, I needed to help my sister.

“It’s a twenty-four-hour emergency vet clinic. Sometimes she comes straight home. Sometimes she stops for breakfast first. There’s this waffle place she likes that?—.”

“WHERE IS SHE?!” Kai’s roar would have rattled fine china. Finally, some urgency to get out of here and go help her.

About damn time. “Riverside Emergency Vet. It’s downtown, northeast eleventh street. Waffle place is two blocks south. If she’s not at either place, she’ll be riding her bike.”

“A bicycle?” He sounded mortified, like I’d just told him my sister ate razor blades for breakfast. Kai turned away and marched toward the door. “Send the coordinates to transport.”

“No! Wait!” Was he leaving without me? I needed clothes. Shoes. Oh, screw it. I transported here in this stupid nightie, I could go back to Earth wearing it and change when I got there. “I’m going with you!”

I rushed around Tazo’s frame but he scooped me up and tossed me over his shoulder.

“Mine.”

How dare he? “Put me down! I have to go save my sister.”

Tazo carried me over to Kai and held me in place as he spoke. “Sister. Mate?”

“Yes.”

He grunted like a caveman, ignoring my struggles. “Go. I protect Lavender.”

I kicked and punched his back. He was just too damn big. Too strong. I had wanted to touch him, but now that I could, I was too mad to enjoy it. “Put. Me. Down! You overgrown animal!”

“Not safe. You stay. Mate.”

He walked out of the medical area and I watched as Warlord Kai and the others entered the corridor behind us and headed the opposite direction. They were leaving without me! I had to help Larkspur! Sure, Kai was an Atlan and could crush the Hive with his bare hands, but he didn’t know my sister. Where she liked to go. What she liked to do. Did he even have her cell number?

“Put me down! I have to go home. I have to help my sister.” I pounded on his back until my arms ached from the effort.

“No. Kai will protect. Sister his mate.”

“No. She needs me.”

“You. Are. Mine.” He had one arm locked around my thighs, holding me in place. The other he lifted to rub my bottom through the blanket, his touch not at all shy or unsure. “Hush. Safe. Kai protect sister.”

No. No I was not safe. My heart raced out of control. I wanted to curl into his arms and strangle him at the same time. My body, however, did not suffer the same internal battle. My breasts were heavy. My nipples tight, sensitive peaks rubbing against his back. The hand he had on my ass made me want to moan and throw aside the blanket to give him better access. His very male scent filled my head and made my core achy and wet.

I was in serious trouble here. This Atlan said I was his mate and, unlike with Warlord Kai, my body was all too eager to agree.

“Where are you taking me?”