Hunted By The Alien Assassin by Ella Maven

Four

Karina

Had I found the most smartass alien in this whole galaxy? Sure, he was huge and little scary, but he smirked a lot. Avoided questions. And now he was eyeing me like I was the main dish.

It wasn’t the first time I’d been ogled, and usually eyes on me made my skin crawl. But for some reason, his fluorescent blue eyes made my skin heat and my nipples pebble beneath my shirt. This was stupid. I hated this asshole. I crossed my arms over my chest and gave him my best withering look. “Maybe I don’t want you to keep me.”

His eyes flashed with surprise, and I had a moment of satisfaction for getting a reaction out of him. I also wondered how much I could poke the bear. Being antagonistic was probably the wrong move, but I was tired, pissed off, scared, and felt sick over the rotting smell of that dead furry thing.

I thought his face would settle into a glare, but if anything, he looked excited as he gestured toward the hut’s opening next to him. “You’re free to leave.”

I stared at him. “What?”

“I rescued you because I didn’t like that I was lied to. I was told you were one thing but found out you were not.”

“When did you find that out?”

“After I’d already handed you over.”

“So… you rescued me because of a pride thing?” So much for the belief he had a conscience.

He tapped his chin. “Sure, you could say that.”

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. That he gave a shit about me—a random human? “So, I can leave.”

His eyes fell to half-mast, and he relaxed into the chair as if he had no cares in the world. He was the picture of no fucks, but his fluorescent blue eyes were aware as ever. “Go ahead.”

“This feels like a trap.”

He grinned, displaying wickedly sharp fangs. “Give it a try, Karina.”

It was the first time he’d said my name. I hadn’t even realized he’d known it. I knew his name was Bosa but referring to him as the Kaluma let me keep some emotional distance. Now that my name fell from his lips with a rolled R, I couldn’t stop replaying the sound in my head.

I stood up, fisting my hands at my sides. Was this probably a trap? Sure. But if it wasn’t, and I was free, then I could return to finish my mission. All I cared about was incapacitating Frenz’s ships, especially now I knew what he’d planned for me.

I took a step toward the opening, watching Bosa the whole time. He didn’t seem to be looking at me. In fact, his eyes appeared closed. Was he sleeping? Seriously?

With a huff, I stalked toward the door and slowly peered outside. The forest was fairly noisy. Leaves rustled. Paws or hooves pounded the dirt in the distance. Something chattered and squawked. But there was still an eerie stillness that gave me pause. I took another step forward, then another, studying the darkness lit only by the bright stars in the sky. I would have enjoyed the beauty of it all if I wasn’t scared out of my mind.

I took one more step before a soft whistling reached my ears. Suddenly arms wrapped around me, and the world flipped upside down before I landed on a hard body. A solid thunk shook the branch inches from where I’d been standing. I stared as a massive arrow, the spear tip the size of my hand, quivered in place.

I struggled against the body holding me until my hands slid off leathery-feeling scales. “Relax,” Bosa said from beneath me. I went still as his blue eyes glittered at me in the dark. “That was just a warning shot.”

“A warning shot?” I squeaked. “From who?”

He jerked his head. “Them.”

Out of the darkness figures appeared. Some on the branches above. Some below, and a few venturing toward us. I lurched in Bosa’s arms, seeking the protection of his hut, even though it was clear their arrows would turn it into Swiss cheese. “What do we do?” I hissed at him frantically. “Where’s Babe? Do you have another one for me? A Babette?”

He chuckled, which seemed wildly inappropriate for the situation. He picked me up easily and stood, shoving me behind his back as he faced off with the largest figure. I peered around Bosa’s bulk to get a good look at our attackers.

What looked like the leader walked on short legs and long front arms, similar to a gorilla. He was covered in a thick hide like a rhino with a large horn jutting out from his chin, giving him a nasty underbite. Draped over his hunched shoulders was a furred headdress that still dripped with blood from a recent kill.

“Oh fuck,” I muttered.

He looked pissed. Or maybe that was just his face. His eyes were nearly covered with about a dozen forehead wrinkles. Behind him a few of his friends made odd chirping sounds following by a series of chest thumps and lip smacks.

Bosa didn’t seem concerned. He stood with his hands loose at his sides. No bat in sight. Then I spotted a fabric wrapped package on the branch at his feet. He opened his mouth and let out a chirp before pushing the package forward with the tip of his boot.

The leader eyed him, then me, before picking up the package. He unwrapped it to reveal a round, shiny platter that caught the light of the stars. He let out a grunting sound followed by a mouth pop straight out of RuPaul’sDrag Race.

Bosa dragged me out from behind him and placed me directly in front of him. I squirmed, unsure what was going on, but went still as he wrapped a hand around the front of my throat. He squeezed. Not hard, but enough to get my attention. The leader’s eyes watched this whole exchange carefully. For a moment there was silence. Stillness. Then the leader let out an ear-piercing chirp that made me cringe before the entire group of…whatever they were…faded into the night as quickly as they’d come.

Only then did Bosa let go of my neck and duck his head to enter the hut. “Come on, Karina. Let’s get some sleep.”

I whirled around. “Some sleep? What the fuck was that?”

From inside the hut, his voice came in a gruff answer. “I wasn’t lying. You’re free to leave if it was up to me. But the orhanus won’t let you out of here alive without me.”

“The what-anus?” I stomped back into the hut to find Bosa shaking out the furs.

“The orhanus.”

Forgetting he could snap me like a twig, I planted myself in front of him with my hands on my hips. “So, you were just going to let me… walk out there and get my head taken off?”

He continued to snap the fur as dust swirled in the air. “They weren’t aiming for your head.”

I coughed and waved my hand in front of my face. “Okay, my leg? Foot? Whatever. Either way, I almost lost a vital body part.”

“It wouldn’t have hit you.”

“Excuse me?”

He let out a sigh and flopped onto the bed pallet. “I told you. That was a warning shot. That arrow landed right where they wanted it to.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “A warning shot.”

“Yes.”

“And if I would have taken another step?”

“Then yes, you would have lost a vital body part.”

I narrowed my eyes. “So, you trapped me here.”

“I don’t have you trapped here. The orhanus though? They have you trapped here. You can’t leave without an escort. Which is me.”

“But you brought me here knowing I couldn’t leave.”

His eyes turned on me, two burning blue flames as he sat up on an elbow. “Look, human. I brought you here because this is the only safe place. Frenz won’t come here. It’s a protected area and the orhanus are fiercely territorial if anyone dares to enter. I’m allowed because I respect them and bring them gifts. So yeah, I chose to bring you here because this is the only place you won’t get dead.” He let out a huff and dropped onto his back. “A thank you would be nice.”

I gritted my teeth. “Thank you.”

He let out a sound that sounded like a deep chuckle. “Very heartfelt.”

I flopped down on the floor and stared at his side profile. His eyes were closed, and his one arm lay bent over his head, the other on his stacked abdominal muscles, like he was posing for a magazine editorial. Draw me like one of your Rinian guys.

I poked at my bootlace. I was tired as hell, but too keyed up and feeling vulnerable to lay down and sleep. “So, what’s the plan?”

“I don’t have one.”

“You can just… drop me off somewhere. I’ve survived this long on my own—”

“No.”

My spine snapped straight. “Why not?”

He finally rolled his head to face me, and his eyes opened to small slits. “Frenz will hunt you to the ends of the galaxy. What did you do to piss him off so badly?”

“I thought you heard the truth about me.”

“I heard you escaped, and he wanted you back to make an example out of you.”

I cackled. “That’s not the whole truth.”

This perked him up, and he rolled onto his side, propping his head on his fist. For a moment, I felt like I was at a sleepover with friends sharing gossip. “So? The truth.”

I hugged my knees to my chest. “You won’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

“I destroy his cargo ships so he can’t steal humans from Earth.”

For a moment, Bosa didn’t react, and then he threw back his head and roared with laughter. I picked up a nearby stick and threw it at him. It bounced off his chest, but he didn’t even notice.

“See?” I growled. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”

He finally lowered his head, and his eyes shone with mirth as he reached for me. I let out a squeak but couldn’t avoid his hand closing around my wrist. He hauled me onto the pallet next to him, and I gasped at the warmth of his body pressed up against me. “I believe you, human,” he said, his face inches from mine. “I knew there had to be a reason Frenz was willing to pay so much for your capture.”

His eyes were so very bright, otherworldly, and his silver hair seemed to glow in the moonlight. I licked my lips as I tried to focus on our conversation and not the hardness of his muscles. “When you caught me, I was about to complete my mission to destroy the last of his cargo ships.”

“It will take him many cycles to rebuild,” his deep voice rumbled.

“Yes.”

Bosa’s big, clawed hand skimmed up my stomach and then plucked my pendant from between my breasts. He studied it before lifting his gaze to mine. “I think I have a plan now.”

I ignored the swirl of heat in my lower belly. “A plan?” Why was my voice so high?

“I’ll help you destroy the last of Frenz’s cargo ships and then I’ll take you somewhere safe.”

Safe.I hadn’t let myself imagine what safety would be like in … an exceptionally long time. “What’s in it for you?”

He shrugged. “Consider it my apology for nearly getting you killed by Frenz.”

I looked away. “You were just doing your job. I didn’t really blame you.” I jerked my gaze to his. “Wait a minute. You don’t seem like someone who makes reparations.”

“I’m not.” He grinned then, a big one that deepened the grooves in his cheeks and made him almost handsome. “Mostly I just really like destroying things.”