Page 4 of Tavarr's Mate
TheStargazerwas supposed to be my trip back home. To Earth. But fuck, a few minutes ago I’d witnessed the total destruction of the ship—as well as the wormhole from which it emerged.
Everyone had been out in the streets to witness theStargazer’s arrival, only to watch in horror as strange lights appeared in the sky. The blue speck of light that marked the Anders-Perkins Wormhole—the only way to and from Earth—had exploded and lit up the city for several seconds, bright as daylight.
TheStargazerblew up about thirty minutes later.
At first I hadn’t understood why the pause in action, but now that I’d seen Kleaxians shooting only men and forcing the women onto hovercrafts, I had my answer.
TheStargazerhad likely been boarded and the women taken captive.
The aliens want to keep the women, but whether as mates or slaves, or both, I do not know.
All I know is that the Kleaxians have every right to be pissed off at humans. We’ve captured them. We’ve experimented on them. We’ve broken their families apart. We’ve forced them off this particular continent on Tallia. We’ve even killed them.
The Demitros Research Facility—the front for Project KH09—comes into sight. The guards that typically keep watch are nowhere to be seen, and I swipe Harry’s ID card and the door clicks open. I hurry inside and jog beyond the lobby, heading for the stairs that lead to the lower level. That’s where Harry will be. He always brags that he has almost the entire basement to himself.
I hate that I’m seeking his help, but if anyone knows a way out of this mess, it’ll be him. Maybe there’s a secret ship hidden outside Capital Acres that he’s aware of, or maybe there’s a way to repair the wormhole. I can only hope. I refuse to believe all the humans on Tallia are stuck here forever, fated to be slaughtered by the Kleaxians, or taken captive.
Though I’m not supposed to be here, none of the white-faced scientists I pass pay me any attention. They all look like they’re about to piss themselves. The ground shakes with vigor and I pray the building doesn’t collapse and bury us alive.
I descend to the lowest level and swipe Harry’s ID card at the next door. As soon as it opens, I bolt through the entryway, only to slam into a hard body.
My gaze travels up to meet hard blue eyes. It’s Harry.
He pushes me against the wall. I hate how he’s crowding over me, using his size to intimidate. He’s never hit me before, but he’s manhandled me a few times while angry. Right now, he looks fucking furious. A chill skitters down my spine as his fingers dig into my upper arms.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Katrina?”
“The Kleaxians are attacking Capital Acres. They destroyed theStargazerand the wormhole.”
His eyes widen and he pales. “I thought all the shaking and noise was theStargazercrashing into Capital Acres. Holy fuck.” He releases me and steps back, then rakes a hand through his dirty blond locks.
“Is there another ship hidden somewhere on Tallia, a ship like theStargazer, that might take us away from here? Is there an evacuation plan in case the Kleaxians attack? Is there—”
“The Kleaxians don’t have ships. They are primitive beasts. You must be mistaken.”
“I’m not fucking mistaken, Harry. I watched the wormhole and theStargazerget blasted to bits in the sky, and then several vessels landed in Capital Acres. Kleaxians are storming the streets, shooting men on sight and taking women captive. I saw it with my own eyes. Would you care to take a stroll outside to confirm I’m not making this all up?”
“Fucking hell.” He starts pacing. The ground continues shaking and I remain leaning on the wall for support.
Realization settles over me, and my blood runs cold with fear.
Harry’s completely surprised by the attack. Hell, he didn’t even know the Kleaxians possessed ships. He’d truly believed them to be the Neanderthals of Tallia.
“There’s nothing, is there? No secret ships? No contingency plan of any kind?”
He lifts his chin and glares at me. “Come, we’ll hide out in the lab until it’s all over. I doubt the Kleaxians can breach the building’s security.” He eyes the ID card I’m still holding and snatches it from my hand. “I hope no one saw you with this. You could get me fired.”
“I’d say getting fired is the least of your worries right now,Dr. Jenner,”I say, my tone dripping with disdain as I utter his name.
He grabs my arm and roughly guides me down the corridor. He swipes the ID card and presses his hand to a black surface on the wall. It lights up and scans his palm. This must be his personal laboratory, the one he’s taken illicit pictures and videos inside.
My heart pounds. He’d recently boasted about being given a new Kleaxian female to study, saying she was near death when brought to the lab and if she died, he would get to perform an autopsy on her. It was my understanding that she’d almost drowned while trying to escape the humans pursuing her, and rather than administer medical attention, Harry’s team has decided to wait it out until she passed on her own—as if watching her die of so-called “natural causes” made their hands any cleaner and their research slightly more ethical. I wonder if she survived, and if so, what kind of awful experiments she’s endured.
Why did I stupidly run to Harry for help?
I try to escape his firm hold, but he forces me deeper inside the laboratory. I should have realized there weren’t any secret ships or evacuation plans in case of a Kleaxian attack and tried to escape on my own. If there had been a fallback plan, surely Harry would’ve crowed about it.
The forest surrounding Capital Acres is vast. I could have hidden in the trees until the attack ended, traveled miles and miles into the woods where no one would find me.
