Page 41 of Pursued By the Dragon Alien

She turned and ran, slipping between crates and shadows, disappearing into the station before Razion could even realize she was gone.

Her breath came in sharp gasps as she ran. Her pulse thudded in her ears, louder than the buzz of the outpost. She didn’t think—she just moved, weaving through merchants and travelers, slipping between crates and storage units, ignoring the startled aliens behind her. All she knew was that she needed to get away.

Tears blurred her vision as fury warred with betrayal. Razion hadsavedher, pulled her off that bastard’s ship, freed her from the harem she’d been sold into. He had touched her. Held her.Whispered to her in the dark. And now, he was handing her over like a piece of cargo.

She darted into a shadowed corridor, barely avoiding crashing into a stack of rusted metal crates. Her legs felt weak, her chest constricted like there wasn’t enough air in the entire outpost to fill her lungs.

He was planning to sell her.

He had agreed to the meeting. Krask had arranged it. They’d spoken about her like she was some package they needed to offload and then—the worst part—Razion had just…agreed.

As if what they’d shared didn’t matter. As ifshedidn’t matter.

The fury burned hotter, pushing out the trembling panic.

No.Fek,no. She wasn’t going to let him do this. She had learned her lesson, and if Razion thought he could hand her over without a fight, he was dead wrong.

Lilas pressed herself against the cold metal of a storage unit, trying to steady her breathing. She had to think.

She wasn’t trapped. Not yet. The outpost wasn’t big, but she could find a way out. There had to be a transport she could slip onto, an escape route—something.

Her fingers dug into the gritty surface of a crate as she forced herself to focus. The corridor she had stumbled into was quieter than the main thoroughfare, dimly lit by flickering overhead lights an. She’d head to the shuttle bay. There, she’d find a ship to leave on. It was reckless and impossible and the only plan she had.

Lilas sucked in a sharp breath, but her reflexes fired too late as a thick, calloused hand clamped over her mouth. Her body jolted. Every muscle locked as she was wrenched backward and pinned against a solid, unyielding chest. She squirmed, kicked, but there was no getting out of these arms, or the thick wings that closed around them both, blocking out light.

A voice, low and rough, snaked past her ear. “Be quiet, Lilas.” The words rumbled through her spine like a vibration against her bones.

She knew that voice. She’d only heard it a handful of times, but it was indelibly etched into her mind. She knew it from a lifetime of orders delivered over fields of wilted crops, and cold pronouncements.

The overseer of Settlement 112-1 had caught her.

SIXTEEN

Razion

“You’ve been busy since we docked, Krask.”

Razion couldnotbelieve what he was hearing.

Krask, his first officer and his, well, friend, or so he thought, had gone behind his back and arranged for Lilas to be disposed of. There was no other way of putting it. Krask wanted Lilas gone and was pushing Razion’s hand. “It must be done,” Krask said, full of logical conviction. “Or at least considered. Think about the harm and disruption she has—andwill—cause the crew. Xelvor says he has the perfect situation for her.”

“Xelvor?” Razion kept his expression neutral. He’d play along for now, just to see how far his first officer had taken this. “Xelvor thetrafficker?”

“Yes, but he’s not like that anymore,” Krask replied. “He’s cleaned up his operation.”

Thefekhe had. Xelvor didn’t have a single clean bone in his many-limbed body. “Is that so? And you think the best thing I can do with Lilas is to sell her to a trafficker?”

If Krask sensed Razion’s seething fury, he didn’t show it. “You know as well as I that it’s better to do it now, before you become attached.”

Before he became attached. He was attached. He was more than attached. Lilas wasn’t just a passing female fling. She was his. His mate. He was sure of it and there was no power or force in the whole universe that would take her away from him. Razion sighed. There was no question what he had to do next, even though it would pain him to do it. “Did you already set up this meeting?”

“Yes,” Krask replied with an eagerness in his voice that made dragon fire burn in the back of Razion’s throat. “Time and place are arranged. I just need your confirmation that you’ll take it.”

“I’ll take the meeting,” he replied, barely keeping the snarl from his tone.

“Excellent.” Krask all but rubbed his hands together with glee. “You’re making the right decision. I’ll let Xelvor know.”

“Yes,” Razion said smoothly. “Let Xelvor know that I think you’ll make a great first officer for one of his ships. You may not always respect the captain of that ship, or him, for that matter, but what’s a little insubordination when it comes to trafficking? I’m sure he’ll be understanding.”

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