Savage Seed by Ivy Sparks

4

Leslie

Oh. My. God.

One moment I was ready to kill the sand beast, knife raised, jaw clenched to keep a war cry from tearing through my throat and alerting it of my intentions, and the next… Whoa

Another creature appeared—no, not a creature—a native. A Xeki. His skin was a pale, silvery blue, and his entire body was covered in dark stripes like a tiger.

Could he actually be some kind of human-tiger hybrid?

But the strangest part of all was that as I watched this native jump on the sand beast’s back and rip it apart, my body shivered. I was already a bit strung out from the attack and my own adrenaline, but this reaction felt different. I raked my eyes over his body as he worked, pulling the sand beast apart as easily as if he were breaking bread, and my mouth actually salivated.

I swallowed. I’d analyze that another time.

Once he was finished obliterating the beast—because “obliterate” really was the only way to describe what he had done—he turned to me with a hunger in his stare. And his eyes… They glittered like emeralds. Dark and dangerous… but beautiful, nonetheless. I shivered again and prayed he wouldn’t notice.

What the hell was wrong with me?

When he put out his hand to me, my options were simple: take his hand or don’t. It was clear my brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders because what I really wanted to do was take this man’s hand and accept his help. But everyone knew to avoid the natives at all costs, especially if you were a female. They were wild and untamed, living without the rules and regulations the rest of us lived by. Everything I knew of them was from the stories I had heard in the mines. And none of them were good.

He was still waiting for my answer. I had half a mind to slap his hand away and stand up on my own. Maybe that would turn him off and make him lose interest.

Because judging by the bulge beneath his loincloth, he was more than interested. Either that, or murdering sand beasts was a huge turn on for him.

But I doubted I was that lucky. And for some odd reason, I was more flattered than terrified that he might be attracted to me.

An alien barbarian as gorgeous as him, attracted to me?

Nah, no way. He probably wanted to eat me or something. There was no other explanation.

His hand remained outstretched for me. I bit my lip, trying to ignore the way his nostrils flared when I did so. If I didn’t take his hand, I’d be forced to trek through the desert alone. The likelihood of that going well was slim to none.

I needed him.

That was just something I had to accept.

I sighed and reached for his hand. He gripped mine—hard!—and hoisted me up. The strength with which he pulled me made me feel as light as a feather. I ended up tumbling forward and into his chest, and he stiffened as I fell against him. His hand was massive and engulfed my own, sending a burning heat up my arm. I shivered again and took a step back, feeling his hand on my waist slide away as I moved.

When had he put his other hand there?

I cleared my throat and pulled my hand away, grimacing when I saw orange goo on it. Sand beast blood. Gross. I hastily wiped it on my pants and watched the alien warrior from beneath the blonde strands of hair that had fallen in my eyes. I knew there would be a language barrier between us, but I had learned a few words and phrases in Xeki in case I ever needed it.

“Thank you,” I clicked in his language, the words clunky on my lips. The warrior’s eyebrows shot up, and I noticed that he had one dark stripe on his face across his eyes, further accentuating the shimmer in their depths. I tried not to get distracted as I continued.

“I know little Xeki,” I tried in his language, hoping I was coming close enough to the right words. “I come from the star port. Near sundown.” I pointed in the direction I believed the star port to be. “My father offers a large reward for my safe arrival.”

He just looked at me. Stared at me. Did I have some blood on my face? I shifted my weight and swallowed, avoiding the urge to swipe a hand across my cheeks.

“I am Kade,” he said in Xeki. Great. I knew his name. That was a start.

“Leslie, my name,” I clicked, the effort to speak Xeki making my tongue ache. I must have gotten enough of the language right for him to think I spoke fluently, because he charged ahead, his words coming out so fast that it all sounded like nothing but garbled noise. I shook my head frantically to get him to realize that I didn’t understand him. After a minute, he paused, and I could see a vein in his neck throb.

We stood in awkward silence for what felt like an eternity before he grunted and turned away. I felt a twinge of panic. He didn’t seem to care about the reward my father could give him. Or was it that I said a word wrong—insulted him, even?

He stopped to look at me over his shoulder and beckoned for me to follow.

This was it: my last chance to turn back. A big part of me wanted to keep convincing myself I had control over my situation. But the truth was, I needed him. Going with him was my best, probably only, chance of surviving and of seeing my father again. I picked up my knife and followed.

Part of me was worried that he was from one of those clans that claimed women. I’d heard those stories all the time, when the men in the mine didn’t think I was listening. They’d tell a story about how their cousin’s wife’s sister had been taken by a native and turned into a member of their tribe. I didn’t know the specifics; the miners’ voices would always drop low at this point in their stories. But I got the gist. These natives… they had different customs. And according to those customs, they could claim outsiders—like me—for breeding.

And the concept of breeding felt so… alien to me. Being used for reproduction and nothing more, like an animal.

But why would any alien want to claim me? Clearly none of the men I saw on a daily basis took any interest, so some mysterious alien stranger couldn’t possibly want me. I was plain. I had been my entire life.

I thought of my mother again, my mother who was so sought after, and frowned. I definitely didn’t want to take after her, so maybe being plain wasn’t so bad after all.

I took large steps to catch up with the alien native—Kade, I reminded myself—and we stopped just as we reached what was left of the stewardess’s body. The sand beast that had attacked her must have retreated upon seeing Kade, because it was nowhere to be found. But the damage it had done to the stewardess was clearly evident, and massive. I couldn’t bear to look at her and averted my eyes, trying my best not to gag at the smell.

Kade crouched down by the stewardess and examined her wounds. I had no desire to look at her any further, but I was curious about what he was doing. Seemingly satisfied, he shook his head and stood. When he did, I caught the shine of the scimitars strapped to his back and blinked. If he had those the entire time, why the hell did he attack that sand beast with his bare hands?

The sound of Kade’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. It seemed I was at least a little better at speaking Xeki than understanding it when spoken, because I still couldn’t understand a thing he was saying. But he was motioning toward the stewardess’s gnarled leg while he spoke, and I believed I understood what he was trying to tell me.

There was nothing I could have done to save her. Sand beast or not, her wounds had been catastrophic. Without immediate medical attention—and perhaps even with it—she wouldn’t have lived much longer.

And he wanted me to know that. He wanted me to not feel any guilt. I looked away, my emotions all mixed up. Maybe he wasn’t as savage as the stories about the natives claimed all Xeki were.

Kade motioned once again that I follow him. I took a few steps before realizing that we were going in the opposite direction of where I believed the star port was. “Wait!” I cried, not even trying to speak Xeki. “Please, wait! I have to get back to my father! I need to help him set up a rescue team for Ava and the others. They’ll die if I don’t get back fast.”

He paused, giving me hope. Could he understand me, after all?

But then he grunted, his eyes piercing through me. What was he trying to tell me? That I was foolish for thinking I could rescue my team? That he was taking me wherever he wanted, and would do whatever he wanted with me?

That he wanted to claim me?

My mouth dried at the thought… But Kade merely pointed in the direction he was heading. It was clear that he had no intentions of heeding my wishes and instead wanted me to follow along with him. Typical man? Check.

But maybe, just maybe, there was hope after all. Maybe this native was civil and wanted to help. Maybe he was taking me somewhere to rest or eat or drink. Besides, we didn’t have the supplies to travel back to the star port. We’d need water, food… And if we ran into another tribe, would they even allow us passage? I had nothing to trade with them… and there was the risk that they, too, would force me into their tribe as breeding stock.

Whatever my worries and concerns, this man had already helped me. Following him, maybe even trusting him, was still my best hope.

I couldn’t silence the voice in my head, though. What if he intends to claim you, Leslie?What then?

My body couldn’t make up its mind on how to react to that thought. On the one hand, the rational part of me screamed out in terror at the prospect of being claimed. My blood cooled and my footsteps slowed. I could feel the panic snaking its way into my chest as I realized I may never see my father again. I may be claimed as part of this native, alien tribe, and forced to become one of them. Whatever the hell that entailed.

But another part of me, something more primal and instinctive, actually hummed at the thought of this man claiming me. It was like I could feel it in my marrow, and that actually terrified me even more. Was it some kind of alien thing? A power they had? Luring women into their beds? Pheromones or weird alien powers or something?

That had to be it. No way these feelings could be coming from me.

Right?

As I walked behind him, and despite my better judgment, I took the time to look him over in a way I hadn’t had the luxury to before. He was massive and could engulf my body in his easily, without even trying. Just the memory of his light touch on my back moments ago sent chills down my spine. He’s not human, I reminded myself. But the stripes across his back were intriguing, looking more like Japanese ink than anything I’d ever seen before. Almost like the man himself was a painting.

A work of art.

But none of that mattered. A tiger was beautiful, wasn’t it? And yet it was deadly. So even if Kade was beautiful in a mysterious, powerful sort of way, he was still potentially very, very dangerous.

As we walked away from the wreckage and the life I knew, one question above all others haunted me.

What was he planning to do with me now?