Savage Prince by Alison Aimes

13

As if they’d heard Maxheim’s boast, the belly of the silver ship opened, and five ropes unfurled from the ship like tentacles.

Wave after wave of identical forms in regulation gray leapt onto the cables and slid down.

That was the thing about the Federation. They overwhelmed with sheer numbers, their followers more drones than living souls.

Through education campaigns, suppression drugs, and strict regulations, the Federation kept their citizenry in line. Or pretended they could.

The slums, pleasure dens, and drug cities that existed beneath the ordered Federation cities were proof their methods didn’t work as well as they declared, but that didn’t stop them from attempting to keep a ruthless grip on their citizens.

She knew from experience. She’d been born in a Federation slum. It’s also where her mother had died.

Now, she and Skolov were the Federation’s targets and, while she appreciated Skolov’s easy confidence, she didn’t share his certainty that they would come out on top.

Even if the soldiers didn’t kill them outright, what came once they were captured would be even worse.

“There’s too many.” She tugged at his wrist. “We have to hide.”

“It will take a lot more than a ship of Federation soldiers to bring me down.” Rough hands shoved her to her knees behind the same stack of crates that had hidden Rav and Lottie. “Stay out of harm’s way. I’ll make sure none of the bodies fly in your direction.”

She blinked in response.

He really seemed to believe he had a chance of winning.

Even more, his show of protection sparked heat low in her belly.

She’d been watching out for herself and protecting others for so long, it was strange—and nice—to have someone else trying to take on the job for her.

Another laser cut through the air.

“Down.” He shoved her head toward the ground and leapt forward.

He pressed a button on his comms and disappeared. The same trick as before. She watched in awe.

No wonder he was so confident. The first wave of soldiers didn’t see him coming.

Soon, the bodies were piling up—and he was keeping them away from her hiding spot too.

Until, finally, the soldiers caught on, shouting among themselves to find a way to disrupt his cloaking device.

Even then, he continued mowing them down.

Still, he was a single male against far too many.

She tucked her blanket dress as securely as possible around her. Then, stretching forward, one eye on the battle, she patted the ground, relief rushing through her as her palm closed around a rusted pipe buried halfway between two crates.

With a hard tug, it gave way.

Shifting to a crouch, she remained as small a target as possible, but at least now she was ready.

She wasn’t foolish enough to think she had the fighting strength to take on several Federation soldiers at once, and the last thing she wanted was to be a distraction to Skolov, but she wasn’t about to simply cower in the dark.

She raised the pipe high and, peeking out from behind the crates, focused on her gift. If she could use the Federation troops’ aggression against them, she might be able to get them to turn on themselves.

Her gift had calmed in Skolov’s presence, but she could sense it now, surging beneath the surface, a storm of darkness and fear once more.

Concentrating, she focused on the two Federation soldiers closest to her hiding place.

A heartbeat later, they turned away from where Skolov had last been and attacked one another.

Yes! She grew hopeful. There really was something about him that altered her gift. Maybe Skolov was right, and they could defeat the Federation troops.

The Alpha blinked into sight.

Hells, they’d found a way to disrupt his cloaking device. The next laser strike barely missed him. He rolled to avoid getting hit, then took down three nearby soldiers.

His skill was unparalleled.

“Remember, we want him alive. The omega too!” The furious call came from one of the soldiers near the front. “Stun and tranq. Those are our orders.”

Forcing herself to remain calm, Tess tried to re-aim her gift at the two soldiers closest to Skolov.

It didn’t work. Rather than attacking each other, they grabbed for Skolov.

Luckily, he was faster, pulling one of the males in front of him to absorb a steady stream of tranq laser shots from another soldier.

Frustration and fear slammed through her.

She sucked down a breath as five soldiers closed in on Maxheim.

Only to watch as they flew back as one, rebuffed.

Her core throbbed. He truly was an astonishing fighter, his mix of savagery and lethal grace brutally efficient. He fought like he did everything else: no movement wasted, his will a ruthless force that took down anything in its path.

Soon, at least twenty lay still on the alley floor and the soldiers appeared to be losing steam.

But the battle wasn’t won.

Determined, she refocused. She’d killed when she hadn’t wanted to. How come she couldn’t now?

“Tessie.” The sound, softer than a whisper, rippled across the back of her neck.

Whirling, half convinced she’d imagined it, she stared at the empty wall behind her.

“Tessie, down here.”

Her gaze shifted, traveling across the expanse of the alley floor.

There! Rav’s silver skin shimmered just beneath the bars of a sewer grate, a few lengths away.

The grate slid open a crack, the sound masked by the snarls of the battle.

Sneaky. Rav had always been sneaky. And clever.

“Come.” He gestured her forward. “While they’re distracted. Lottie and the others are waiting for you. They’ve been so worried.”

The furious grunts from her other side rose in volume. The numbers of still conscious Federation soldiers were dwindling, but Skolov had to be growing tired too.

Her toes curled into the alley cobblestone.

She hovered where she was. Uncertain.

She wasn’t sure why.

Her friends were waiting. They needed her.

But Skolov had said they would all be safe in his care.

Except for Rav.

What’s more, the Brotherhood would be baying for her blood, and even a male as powerful as Maxheim Skolov could not stand against them forever.

Yet every cell inside her rebelled at the idea of leaving the Alpha to fight alone. The tingle of her skin and the wetness on her thighs a reminder of just how strong a spell the male had over her.

But with her gone, he could escape too. There’d be no need for him to stay and fight. He could get away safely.

Still, she remained where she was, wondering what exactly Aldar had made Rav do to piss Skolov off and if there was a way she could fix it without betraying either male.

Then she wondered why leaving the Skolov Alpha felt like a betrayal at all.

“Tess, now!” Rav’s voice dropped to a commanding snarl, a far more aggressive sound than he should have been able to make given the suppression drugs Aldar forced on him. “Get over here. With Nils and Aldar missing, I was able to steal a ton of shit. Enough to buy that tracker. This is our chance to save ourselves and the others and make our own choices. They’re waiting for you even now, depending on you to get them to safety. You’re not thinking of deserting us, are you?”

Her heart beat fast. Was she being selfish? She feared she was.

She couldn’t abandon her friends, no matter how much a part of her would always remember the way Skolov had held her under the stars while her panic subsided.

But being there for Rav and the others had to take precedence.

Bounding to the right, pipe still clutched in her hand, her blanket dress fluttering against her calves, Tess rushed toward the open sewer grate.

“Tesstala, no!” The roar behind her was immediate. Somehow Skolov knew.

She forced her feet to keep moving, the power of his command hard to overcome, the urge to obey a primal beat in her blood.

But she was so much stronger than any of these Alphas ever believed.

She neared the grate—only to be waylaid by a blur at her side.

“Got you!” A gloved hand closed around her wrist.

It was a Federation soldier. A thick-necked brute with at least twenty-five kill marks etched into his helmet and a wild look in his gaze. More proof the suppression drugs were not as effective as the Federation claimed.

She swung her pipe.

Crack.Her makeshift weapon struck his arm. He didn’t even flinch.

She tried to harness her gift and fling it outward.

It didn’t work.

Another soldier closed in.

Then another, their covered hands rough as they grabbed hold of her, her gift useless against their protective gear.

“Stay the hells away from her!” Skolov’s enraged shout echoed through the alley.

But even closer still, she saw the sewer grate slide shut, the bang of metal as loud as the echoing clang in her chest.

Rav’s regretful stare locked with hers through the bars.

Without a word, he slipped back into the darkness. Leaving her, after all.

She didn’t blame him. They were survivors. They did what they had to do.

Still, a strange sense of dislocation—and something even more confusing—crashed through her as another howl sounded behind her. “Don’t hurt her.”

Skolov still fought to protect her.

He could have run too. He hadn’t.

“Let go!” Inspired by his example, she fought harder.

“You’re not going anywhere, omega.” Fingers dug into her skin as the soldier with the kill marks on his helmet dragged her against his chest, her back to his front.

Snarling, she bucked in his hold.

But he was too strong. Her feet left the ground as he hoisted her high.

“Skolov, you paying attention? We have your bitch.” He ripped the blanket from her. “And she is prime. For the moment.”

A savage roar shook the alley. “Get the fuck away from her.”

Cruel hands drove her toward the ground. Hard.

Pain slammed through her ribs. The sharp edge of a rock dug into her cheek.

With a furious scream, she shook off the soldier’s hold and leveraged her hands beneath her, trying to rise.

A heavy boot pressed on her spine, shoving her back down. “We can easily break her in two. Your choice.”

Her gaze locked with Skolov’s. She waited for him to tell them to do it because she’d run. Because she deserved it. Because, in the end, like Rav and every other Alpha, he’d chose to save himself over her.

But Skolov surprised her once more.

“Don’t you fucking dare. I surrender. You hear me? I surrender.”

Her breathing hitched. The look in his gaze nothing she’d ever seen before as he raised his hands high. “It’s over. You won. Just get the hells off her.”

“No. Don’t. Run!” She tried to protest.

Too late.

The first tranq slammed into Skolov. He didn’t even try to dodge it. Then, the second, third, and fourth.

She screamed again.

Her gaze was still locked with his as he folded to his knees.

She was still shouting his name as something sharp pricked the back of her neck.

Everything went black.