Page 17 of A Mate for Vasek
Kotch had spent some time with her in the beginning, curious about what humans were all about, but after the novelty wore off, he’d gone back to spending most nights with the two Fiete women. In the inner planets the Fietes were common, but out here they were rare and usually kept inside the homes, so they were very seldom seen. Dawn had only met one other who had not been owned by Kotch, and she’d been very nice, but also kind of slow.
Kotch had also preferred the Fietes because there was no risk of forming a mate bond with them. Also, a much smaller chance of getting murdered in his sleep.
“Lies!” The one with the scab reached for her, and she scrambled away, trying to put a tree between them.
Morad got to her before he did, grabbing her by the hair. “She might be telling the truth. Kotch always did prefer the obedience of a Fiete over the fire of a human. He never quite appreciated the challenge.” He pointed to one of the thugs. “Contact the auction house and halt the sale of the two Fietes,” he demanded.
The other guy didn’t look too happy to be ordered around but did as he was told, muttering something unintelligible under his breath.
Morad turned to her, first looking pensive, then sly. “If that’s the case, he must not have played with you much. Good. You’ll be all mine.”
Panic set in at his words. Morad always had an interest in her, but Kotch didn’t like to share, not even toys he wasn’t using.
“Fuck that!” said one of the thugs. “You said we were going to sell her after we got the code and split the profits.”
“I say we sell her only after we’re all sick of her. She’s pretty. Kind of like our women, but rounder and with lighter hair,” suggested another.
Dawn glanced around wildly, looking for escape, and despite not finding one and knowing that it was futile, she still tried to make a run for it. She hit Morad on the elbow as hard as she could with the heel of her hand and wrenched herself from his grasp. She didn’t even make it a few yards before she was hauled back by one of the brutes.
Suddenly there was a loud roar, and the male holding her released her as they all turned to the sound. Vasek was charging at them. His cheek creases were extended, and his fangs were solong they jutted out past his lips. There was rage in his eyes, a ferocity that sent horror through her.
He was everything that Dawn was scared of in these Talleans. The very reason she needed to get back to Earth.
He landed on the closest of her assailants before he’d had time to react, and there was a flash of red as blood spurted from the guy’s throat, splashing them all. Holy shit! Vasek had just torn out his throat!
Dawn stood there frozen, her heart pumping furiously in her chest as Vasek threw the limp body to the ground.
Chapter 10
Vasek
By the time he tossed the first worthless male aside, the rest had already realized what was happening and were ready to fight. There were only a few of them, plus Morad, but Vasek was outnumbered, so he hadn’t had any qualms about attacking first to even out the numbers.
The one with the cut across his cheek who had tried to touch Dawn threw a punch at him. But in bloodlust, Vasek’s reaction time was unrivaled, and he was nimble too. He evaded and kicked out his clawed and heavily booted feet, catching the male in the stomach. The angle was wrong, and the slash of his talons wasn’t quite large enough to eviscerate him like the first male, but the guy crumbled to the ground, holding his belly.
Although two of them had been taken out of the equation, it was still three versus one. Vasek needed to remove one more opponent if he wanted a chance to win.
The group had stopped right in the path of a tentacle tree, called that because its long hanging vines were coated with a thick sticky substance that caught their prey before theydissolved them with their digestive juices. They were related to carnivorous grass, except their tentacles were a lot stronger.
He moved to stand in front of the tree, staying just out of its reach. One of the idiots fell for it, charging at him. A slight miscalculation meant the male managed to grab hold of Vasek, pulling him along within reach of the carnivorous tree. Before Vasek could wrench himself away, the until-now immobile and seemingly lifeless tentacles started to move. Grabbing him, the sticky goo latching onto his shirt. He thought fast, ripping the shirt off and letting the tree have the top. A part of the tentacle had touched his skin, however, and Vasek braced as he threw himself away from the tree as hard as he could.
There was a feeling of skin tearing and Vasek gritted his teeth. Losing some skin was a much better fate than being slowly digested alive.
Morad and the other remaining male rounded on him now that he was outside of the tree’s reach. Two on one was a much better deal.
Morad, realizing that he no longer had the upper hand, fled. And so did the other male. Vasek followed him for a few steps before he remembered why he was really here.
Dawn!
He looked around for her, but she was gone. He heard her, though. She was running back toward their shuttle. Suddenly overwhelmed by the need to hunt her down, throw her on the ground, and claim her, he followed. These irrational thoughts were why Vasek had spent so much of his life trying not to go into bloodlust. But like his father and his brother, he was prone to it. This rampaging, illogical beast wasn’t what he wanted to be.
This was a part of him he’d tried very hard to tamp down. He was supposed to save lives, not end them. But he’d always struggled with the innate desire for violence that all Talleans had. Bloodlust made it harder.
Vasek caught up to Dawn easily. The look she sent behind her back at him told him all he needed to know: she was running from him, but he would catch her, and once he did, she’d be his.
He plucked her from the trail, her arms and legs still flailing. She wore his top, but it had been ripped during her escape. He finished the job, tearing it from her to expose her to him. She was utter perfection, and he couldn’t believe his luck that he’d have such beauty to celebrate his victory with.
Her body wiggled deliciously against his and his cock hardened almost painfully. He rolled his hips, rubbing his burgeoning length against her, which only made her squirm in his arms even more.
