Page 9 of A Monster's Light
“Yeah. I was there when you read the report, smartass. They tore apart her home, looking for proof, and couldn’t find anything that could’ve done that. All she had on her when they found her this morning were her clothes.” He grumbled unhappily. “And why the hell are we imprisoning a Kadrixan anyway? They’re going to start a war.”
He was probably correct, and I wondered if perhaps that was the point. Nova Vita needed the ore under our mountain. They’d had their eyes on it since before we arrived, and when our treaty ended, we’d cut them off completely.
“Shut up, you’re going to get us both written up. If it’s not her, then who was it?”
“It could’ve been her. Or it maybe someone fucked up setting up the cameras and didn’t want to admit it. Or it could be Omnia Pictures trying to get more information than they were supposed to and they used her to get in.”
“If she’s innocent, then why did she run?”
“What would you do if they suddenly disabled your ID chip and blamed you for a crime?”
“I’d go in and explain that it wasn’t me.”
The second guard guffawed and snorted. “I guess I know who to blame if I need a scapegoat.”
“Fuck off. You know what, you stay here with the monster and the chit. I’m going up front.” The first guard shoved a small form into the seat next to my gurney before squeezing through the narrow gap to the front of the transport.
Dana was so close I could feel the cool, slick fabric of her jacket against my upper arm, which would be falling off the platform if it wasn’t strapped onto it. I ordered my body to calm even as an overwhelming rush of need and lust invaded my consciousness. Her presence sent the upcoming rut hammering at the portal, demanding to be let out. It wasn’t just the rut though; I felt an inexplicable need to protect her. My body was readying itself to fight.
Soon. Soon, I’d have her in my arms and in my nest.
I shoved the errant thought away. She was not my mate, and only my mate would see my nest. The rut must be closer than I’d thought. It was already messing with my head.
I tried to ignore the scent of her fear as I struggled to keep my heart rate down and my breathing steady. But every inhalation made it more difficult as the transport started up again, and we continued to our destination.
We’d gone some distance before the vehicle lurched, hitting a bump in the road. Dana let out a small yelp and reached out with her hand to stop herself from falling.
The knowledge hit me like a shuttle blast the moment her fingers touched my skin.
She was my mate!
If I hadn’t been already lying down, I knew that I’d have dropped to my knees. The concern I had earlier that I might not recognize my mate when I found her seemed ludicrous.
I was completely engrossed in her. Her scent. Her presence. Her closeness. I opened my eyes and was immediately lost in hers. I saw my entire future in them. It must have affected her too because she was frozen in place, a look of wonder on herface. She kept her hand on me, her fingers tightening around my bicep.
It wasn’t until one of the guards swore loudly that I heard the loud beeping coming from the monitoring screen.
“Fuck! His vitals are all over the place,” said the guard who’d stayed in the back, his hands moving automatically to his weapon. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t… Oh… It’s the rut.” Dana’s softly spoken words pierced through the chaos.
“Shit! You’re probably right.” The anger he’d had originally directed at Dana faded. “Come here, girl. We’ll protect you.”
“Fuck that,” said the male who’d first brought her in. “I’m not risking my neck. Dr. Noble paid big bucks for the monster. The bitch is just a journalist they want to sil—” He paused as he squeezed back through the divide from the front, his eyes landing on her hand, which was still on my arm. He stomped over to Dana and grabbed her, yanking her away from me and making her whimper. “The bitch is touching him. This is her fault.” He shook her violently. “What the fuck did you do?”
The action had me seeing red. How dare he touch what was mine! I was going to rip his head from his body.
With a loud roar, I flexed and broke through the straps holding me down. I stood to my full height, towering over everyone else and filling the transport.
Chapter 6: Dana
Holy shit on a stick! Gnnar was terrifying when he was angry.
The moment Gnnar had broken out of his straps, Smartass—my mental name for the mean guard who’d shoved me in the beginning—had opened the transport door in a blind panic to get away from him, and the vehicle had stopped. We were outside now on a dirt road with sparse, low brush on one side and the desert on the other.
Gnnar wasted no time tearing Smartass apart. I had no idea what his terrifying growls meant, but I knew it had something to do with me. Smartass, being dumb as he was, had tried to use me like a shield, which was probably the worst thing he could’ve done. The angry Kadrixan tossed him so hard against the side of the transport that he was now nothing more than a smear. Since Smartass had been a jerkwad to me the entire time and had totally felt me up when they first handed me off to him, I didn’t even feel bad cheering his demise.
The guard that had been up front the whole time stepped out of the vehicle and raised his weapon, aiming it at Gnnar. He hadn’t managed to get a shot off at all. Gnnar picked him up and tossed him so far out into the desert that when he landed, he didn’t get back up.
