Protected by the Alien Warrior

Protected By The Alien Warrior
Hope Hart


Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue


Chapter One
Ivy
The Voildi dumps me on the ground, and I glower up at him.
This planet is kicking my ass.
“Get up,” he says as he steps forward. He raises his hand while Zoey slowly gets to her knees, her face so pale she looks half dead.
The asshole is going to hit her.
I jump in front of Zoey, and Beth helps her to her feet.
The Voildi are a sickly yellow color, with sharp, pointed teeth. They’re about our height, but they’re stronger than most of the firefighters I work with, and they’re some of the strongest people around.
After the way the Voildi kicked my ass when we were taken, I’m prepared for his speed. He swings, and I automatically duck, punching him in the face. The thud of my fist is satisfying as he cups his hands to his nose, and his friends roar with laughter as blood drips between his fingers.
The gag in my mouth makes it difficult to breathe. Thanks to the time I broke my nose when I was ten, I’m limited by the amount of oxygen I can get through it. I raise my fists as he steps forward anyway, more than ready for a fight.
“Jasit,” a voice says, and we all turn. I’ve seen a few sociopaths in my time, but one glance at this guy has all the tiny hairs on the back of my neck standing up. He glances at me, and I shiver as I raise my chin.
His gaze shifts, lingering on Zoey and Beth, and he frowns. “Where are the rest?”
“The Braxians showed up,” Jasit grinds out. “They killed the hunters from Atar’s pack.”
The other Voildi nods, and from the tension in the Voildi surrounding us, I’m guessing he’s the ringmaster of this circus.
“Are you sure we can’t eat them?” Jasit asks, and his leader smiles.
“I have plans for them,” he says. “Meat can be found anywhere on this planet. But females are a precious commodity.”
Oh, great.
The leader raises his eyebrow, gesturing to the right, and I tense at the sight of the cave entrance.
“Walk,” he says.
We walk. I glance at Beth, and she nods, making sure Zoey is between us. The cave is larger than it first appeared, lit with torches that have been attached to the walls. Someone is cooking meat, and my stomach growls.
Cannibals, Ivy. You probably don’t want what they’re cooking.
There’s a fire burning, and a group of Voildi are gathered around it—women and children included.
One of the Voildi unties my gag, and I run my dry tongue against the corners of my mouth. The leader offers Beth a waterskin, and she hesitates, stepping back as he smiles at her.
“We want you alive,” he says through that creepy-ass smile. “So drink, or we will pour it down your throat.”
She takes a sip, and I gratefully do the same when I’m handed a skin of my own.
We’re pointed toward a corner on the opposite side of the fire, and I snort at the thin furs as I glance around. Beth’s eyes meet mine, and I nod. Yeah, we’re unlikely to be able to sneak out of here anytime soon.
One of the Voildi women steps forward, avoiding my gaze. She hands us each a plate of food, and we sit down. But we’re not in a hurry to sample whatever these guys are serving us.
I inspect it and finally shrug as Zoey and Beth watch me. Looks like I’m taking one for the team.
I take a bite and swallow with a relieved sigh. “It’s fish,” I tell them, and we inhale our food as the Voildi finish their own meals, breaking into groups as they pass around thick furs.
Zoey hands me her plate, and I run my eyes over her. She looks bad, her skin so pale that her blue eyes provide the only color on her face. I lock eyes with Beth and nod. We need to find someone who can help her.
When we were stolen from Earth and sold to the aliens who loaded us onto their ship, one of those motherfuckers kicked Zoey in the ribs. Before we were taken by the Voildi, I’d had a quick look at the damage. If I’d come across her while in the field, I’d have taken her straight to the hospital.
I’m not a doctor, but after six years as a firefighter, I’ve seen it all. And I’d bet money that she has at least one fractured rib.
The urge for vengeance hits me, soothed only by the fact that those purple assholes died when we crash-landed on this planet.
Just when we thought we’d been rescued, the three of us were separated from the other human women.
I finger what’s left of my Minnie Mouse pajamas. The pajamas were a gag gift from Bruce, my closest friend and fellow firefighter. The huge black man roared with laughter when I waltzed into the communal kitchen at our firehouse wearing the bright-pink pajamas.
I spent our entire journey to this cave ripping scraps of material from my pajamas and hiding them along the way. I’m pinning all my hopes on the other women coming after us—ideally with the huge warriors who stepped in to fight off the first group of Voildi who tricked us into following them.
I scan our surroundings, but nothing has changed since I did the same thing a few minutes ago. The floor is bumpy with tree roots, and there’s a small puddle of water not far from where I’m sitting, growing larger with the occasional drop of water from somewhere above us.
Time to figure out a plan.
“We’re not getting out of here tonight,” I murmur to the other women. “But that’s okay. We’re not in good condition, and we need to sleep anyway.”
Beth nods. “If they’ve got plans, they might move us.”
“Or they could bring those plans to us,” Zoey murmurs.
I