Page 42 of Rhaz's Redemption
We could hear voices outside our cabin getting louder as they approached.
“Thank you sir. It is an honor to serve you.”
The first voice was clearly Dameron, but this second one, I hadn’t heard before.
“You will be the first of my hunters to be rewarded. Your example will encourage the others to work as hard as you do.”
My stomach sank to my feet.Reward. I had a feeling I knew what kind of reward Dameron had in mind for his loyal hunter.
The door swung open and slammed loudly against the wall. Sarah jumped and Tabby made a startled sound but three of us women immediately started coughing loudly to cover it up. Gabby let her suckle on her pinky finger and that seemed to pacify the baby.
“You make take any female you please,” Dameron proudly announced as if we were trophies on a shelf and not people with real thoughts and feelings.
They looked us over. Drelic’s eyes narrowed as the searched our faces. I don’t know what he was looking for, but I did know when he found it. His eyes widened when they landed on Fatima and I took my friend’s hand in mine and squeezed. She squeezed back in a silent goodbye and my heart sank the moment the male said, “That one.”
Drelic pointed to Fatima, but she didn’t move.
“Come, female,” Dameron demanded, but she didn’t budge. This was the same woman who had stared down our alien captors all those months ago. I’d never forget the angry look on her face when they passed by her as she laid there strapped to her cryochamber like the rest of us. I didn’t have the courage she did, and I hoped she had plenty of that courage left. She was going to need it.
“You’re going to have to get her yourself,” Dameron commented with an annoyed sigh.
“I see,” the hunter squared his shoulders and stalked toward Fatima with unwavering determination.
“I won’t go quietly,” she vowed. “I will not be your mate or your lover.”
Drelic stopped in his tracks and looked her over again with a pained expression on his face. He hesitated for a moment then looked back over his shoulder to see Dameron was still watching him.
“You will learn to yield to me over time,” he commented in a low threatening tone. Then scooped my friend up and threw her roughly over his shoulder.
His abrupt movements made me lose my grip on her hand and she cried out as soon as we lost contact.
“Fatima!” I yelled, but it was no use. The male was already walking away.
No. No. No!I wouldn’t just let this happen. I stood up, closed the door, and blocked it with my body.
“You aren’t going anywhere with her,” I vowed.
A moment later Talia was at my side, using her strong body to also block the door. Then one after another the rest of the women joined me in standing in front of the door.
“Put her down,” I commanded.
The two males looked at each other with shocked expressions on their faces. They hadn’t expected us to stand up to them. They could hurt us, and I was prepared for that, but I was certain they wouldn’t kill us. They needed women, almost all of theirs had died. It would be a big blow to the moral of his men if he suddenly slaughtered their “prizes”.
“Put her down,” Dameron said with a grimace, as if yielding to us left a bad taste in his mouth.
The other male hesitated, but ultimately did as he was commanded. I clung to Fatima in a tight hug the moment she was set down. My friend was trembling, which enraged me even more.
“I will find a more suitable time for you to claim your new mate,” the Savrix proclaimed, but the words were hallow. I wouldn’t allow for my friend to be taken. Not now, not ever.
Chapter 18
Rhaz
I shivered in the cold for hours as I knelt on the frozen ground with my hands tied behind my back. I watched as my sire brought Drelic into the small wooden cabin the females were being held in and I fought against my bonds. I didn’t want either one of them near my Beatrice.
I didn’t know Drelic well. He’d been a quiet child who was a few seasons younger than me. But by the way he followed Dameron’s every command, I knew he couldn’t be trusted. Favalor on the other hand… he was a smart male who was playing a dangerous game. He was pretending to be loyal to Dameron while undoing the Savrix’s work. If caught, it would be the end of him.
The young hunter brought me water when no one was looking and assured me the females were safe for now.
