Walking through aisles of cages, Rygard did as he was told, trying to ignore the misery around him. Merchandise had been arranged on shelves all along the aisles, tagged and ready for auction. Some of it live and not all sounded animal. Some called out to him, wailing for mercy. Others huddled, cringing when his gaze swept over them. The room stank of desolation and despair.
The ones who didn’t respond at all frightened him the most, sitting in their cages with the glazed eyes of the lost. Dead already, their bodies simply hadn’t caught up yet. He couldn’t save them all, not there and then. And even if he could, they’d have no place to go.
Finally, he had a visual on the cubs, the ones he’d personally collected. Kaitlyn saw them too, her ears perked forward and her mouth dropped open as she panted. Rygard halted the platform near the cubs, in the shadow of a stack of cages, and set it to remain stationary. With luck, sensors wouldn’t register movement until Kaitlyn broke cover.
Pausing, he stared into her sapphire eyes.
“Thank you for helping me make things right.” No guarantee he’d have the chance to say it later. “If anything goes wrong, I will come after you, sweetness. I promise.”
Those eyes didn’t blink, but he couldn’t read them either.
He turned on his heel and headed back out.
Kaitlyn considered his words when he left, using them as a lifeline as she struggled with old trauma and instinct. Even in cat form, she needed human thinking to succeed.
She could have left him to the alien felids. They seemed willing to let her go free. She’d had nothing to do with the situation.
She could go the high road and claim an angelic desire to help Rygard redeem himself and save his life. The man was probably an excellent fighter, but he’d been outnumbered and wouldn’t have been able to fight off the jaguar to boot. And there were the cubs to think of too.
But no, that wasn’t all of it. She’d hated the way his lips twisted in disgust as his opinion of her disintegrated in less than a microsecond. He’d called her a trap, as if everything about the way they’d met and the time spent together had been calculated, a symphony of lies. She could only show him who she was, because words weren’t going to change his perception. Even if he seemed okay after the deal they’d made with the felids, she knew he didn’t have the truth of her.
And somehow, that mattered far more than it should.
“Lights out,” the guard called, his voice harsh. She heard him rattle the cages of a few of the captives still moaning or begging for freedom. “Shut up!”
The memory came back to her of the slave girl’s dull stare, the stink of sex in the air. She crouched down within her cage, suppressing the need to claw at the containment field. Rage filled her, her heart picking up speed, sending blood coursing through her body. She’d been there. She’d been that girl.
Light blinked out, leaving them all in oppressive darkness. The acrid stink of fear intensified as if the dark made the hopelessness of captivity worse. With no sense of day or night, time stretched out endlessly. She’d listen for any sound, half-needing some sign of life and half-terrified of what new torture it would bring. She remembered the despair.
But now, darkness was exactly what she needed. This was a night of action. She shoved the echoes of terror far back in her mind, gathering her legs underneath her, ready and waiting. She ignored the ghostly weight of a collar and chains—refused to let them hold her.
A few emergency lights here and there on the ceiling and walls gave off light. Faint, but more than enough for her to see by.
A chattering came from the near wall. The cover of the ventilation shaft shuddered as the corners were compromised from the inside and a tiny head squeezed out one side. Chester squeaked a greeting then worked the rest of his long, furry body free and dropped to the stacked crate below. A harness had been strapped to him with a rolled-up plastic bundle attached.
In moments, the ferret stood on his haunches examining the grav platform. Giving him a hint, Kaitlyn tapped one side with her paw, drawing his attention to the controls. In moments, Chester pressed the button to deactivate the containment field.
She leaped off the pad, shaking off the phantom chains from her past and climbing quickly up the crates to the ventilation shaft. It took two carefully quiet jumps to nab the cover and pull it completely free. Setting it to the side, she turned and leaped back to the floor, gliding on silent paws to the cage holding the jaguar cubs. Kindred, the felids had called them. Sensing her approach, the male stood his ground, hissing a challenge. His fur stood up across his arched back as the little female huddled behind him.
She figured they wouldn’t trust her, not with the trauma they’d suffered thus far. She turned to Chester, gently nipping the plastic bundle off his back and tearing it open to reveal a piece of fabric. It carried the scent of the felid aliens and the jaguar. She’d requested it earlier while her plan came together.
Her ferret sidekick hopped his way to the side of the cage, working his magic on the containment field as Kaitlyn presented the cloth to the cubs.
She prayed the male was intelligent enough to catch the scent quickly and shut up before the guard came.
“I said, shut up!” Too late for quiet. “Fucking beasts.”
A beam of light shot through the darkness toward the front of the holding area. Chester managed to deactivate the containment field at the same time the cubs quieted, sniffing at the cloth warily.
No time left.
Kaitlyn lightly butted the little male with her head, bowling him over, then very carefully closed her jaws over his scruff and hoisted him. Instinctively, he relaxed in her hold and she turned, darting up the crates. She leaped the last three meters directly into the ventilation shaft. This part of the rescue had completely nixed Rygard from the plan. No way could a man of his bulk squeeze into the shaft, much less maneuver.
Placing the cub carefully at the juncture for a connecting shaft, she nudged him once with her nose to force him on his belly. The command clear—stay. Seconds later, she had the female cub and placed her with her brother. The final trip was for Chester. There was no way the tube rat could make it up the crates again, much less jump the three meters to the ventilation shaft itself.
Their luck ran out.
“Hey!” The beam of light landed on them as she bent to pick up Chester. The guard’s hand reached for his gun. Stupid. He should have reached for his communicator and sounded an alert.
Either way, it wouldn’t save him.
All panther now—a silent shadow. Kaitlyn dodged out of his pitiful ray of light, streaking across the distance between them. She overshot the guard and pivoted to take him from behind. Leaping on his back, she grabbed him at the juncture between his neck and his skull. Her jaws crushed his skull before he could cry out again. His body fell forward, but the man died before he hit the floor. Couldn’t risk him sounding an alarm. Human or cat, she had no remorse for killing his kind.
Captor. Rapist. Torturer.
Growling at memories, Kaitlyn quickly moved Chester into the ventilation shaft.
She turned back for her kill. Two tries to get the carcass into the ventilation shaft. Dead man was fat and annoying, even now. She needed to hurry before another guard came to check on the noise. The other felines in the cages paced and roared in response to her movement. Like her, they didn’t belong in cages. No time to free them.
Killing the first guard wasn’t enough to make up for leaving them behind.
She hesitated a moment longer. She didn’t want to abandon the captives but couldn’t free them now. Boggle would make sure they were found. Nothing left for her but to get back. She turned and leaped up the crates. Gathering her legs under her, she made the final jump for the ventilation shaft.
Pain pierced her left haunch, knocking her out of the air.
Kaitlyn yowled, crashing down on the crates. Her rear leg numbed, useless. Unable to stop herself, she tumbled down the stack. The ground caught her, hard and unyielding. A nerve dart broke off, the needle still in her flesh.
The new guard crept toward her. Smarter, this one. Quiet. In his hand…
Her snarl cut the air, silencing the beasts around her.
The sight of the collar, the attached chain hanging in loops, enraged her. Fear, remembered hate, froze her.
How long had she sat before Master’s feet? Collared. At his mercy. So many creative ways to inflict pain with a simple length of chain.
Never again.
The numbing spread from her left haunch. A normal cat would have been paralyzed. Her genetics were better. She could resist the drug, deal with the guard. But she needed to think like the human. Dev had taught her control, had showed her the way back to human thinking.
He stepped closer, the chains rattling.
But not quite a human. Humans spent too much time being squeamish.
She lay on her side, panting hard. He nudged her with a foot. Her temper spiked.
Still, lie still.
She needed him closer.
This one was sober. But his breath smelled of rot and ketones. Too much meat. It wouldn’t matter anymore. As he leaned in, she waited. The chains clinked against the floor by her head.
Now.
She struck out with a forepaw. Lightning quick, at the perfect angle. His jaw didn’t just break. It ripped away from his face.
“All clear.” Boggle’s hands skimmed across the consoles, watching the displays. One set of feeds showed the actual activity in the holding area, while the other displayed the false images he projected to the security systems.
They watched the black shadow haul the second body up to the ventilation shaft. Kaitlyn’s rear leg clearly dragged with the effort.
“She’s going to be in a crappy mood.” Boggle stated the obvious as he set a fresh batch of coffee to brew. He also started setting out medical supplies.
“We’ll have to deal with the bodies.”
Boggle turned to him. “Upset she killed them?”
Rygard shook his head. “Not at all. The first scum had it coming to him, and the second hit her first.” He paused. “She was quick about it. No hesitation.”
“I know.” Boggle grinned. “She has excellent speed and efficiency in both cat and human forms. You should see the stats on her previous missions.”
Several images of Kaitlyn in action flashed up on the far display, accompanied by streaming data. Rygard stepped closer, but he wasn’t focused on the information. Instead, he reached out to touch one static image of her face.
“You wouldn’t think it to look at her,” he murmured.
For a few seconds, only the sound of Boggle munching on his snacks filled the room. Then the techno-geek commented quietly, “She’s not that girl.”
“What?” Rygard’s focus remained on her image.
Before the geek could answer, a scratching noise came at the vent. Chester’s face squeezed out from one corner, then they heard a solid
thunk
. The cover popped off the ventilation shaft to expose Kaitlyn’s dark form crouched, a shadow in the darkness. Twin sapphires glowed for a long moment before she blinked slowly and turned in the tight space.
One cub and then another gently dropped to the counter below, followed by the squirming ferret. Rygard took a step toward them, but a low growl warned him back. One of the cubs struggled to its feet, arching its back and letting out a hiss.
They remembered him, and not in a good way.
Kaitlyn descended with liquid grace despite her injured leg, then stood over the cubs. Her black muzzle nuzzled them tenderly until the disgruntled cub’s anger subsided. Chester squeaked and whined, rearing up on his hind legs for attention. One large black paw descended on the ferret, gently squashing him.
Rygard’s chest tightened. He could almost visualize the ghost of her human form, comforting them. He knew the softness of her touch, remembered how she’d helped dress him. It wasn’t in her to be a user. Somehow, he could see her more clearly without the distraction of feminine curves.
Clearing his throat, he jerked his chin toward the private corner he’d set up for her. “Your uniform and gear are over there when you’re ready to change.”
The baby furries settled for the moment, Kaitlyn padded over to the table and grasped the medical supplies in her mouth, then continued behind the screen he’d erected for her. In minutes, her silhouette stood straight and human and devastatingly curvy.
“Thank you.” Boggle whispered the reverent words.
“I can smell arousal.” Kaitlyn’s warning came through clear. “You both are pervs.”
At her words, the ferret scampered across the counter and stood on hind feet. He, at least, had a clear view as she dressed.
Rygard didn’t want to be jealous of a weasel, he really didn’t.
It took several minutes and some creative cursing for her to extract the broken needle from her hip.
“You need help?” Rygard offered, despite Boggle’s warning cough.
“Got it covered,” her voice growled out, more cat than human.
“She doubles as med officer for the crew, does her own field triage.” Well, the geek could have given him
that
intel a little sooner.
“And the tranq will wear off faster in my system than most.” She stepped out from behind the screen, fully dressed. Her gaze settled on Rygard and one eyebrow arched. “It’s not like you haven’t seen all there is to see.”
He let the grin stretch wide across his face. “Never gonna get tired of it, sweetness.”
No return smile. He might not get the chance again.
“Uh-huh.” She shrugged into her harness and secured it in place. “Are we good to go, Boggle?”
“Triggered the fire sensors in the black market as soon as you got back. Suppressants engaged, washing away the blood from your kill. No damage to any of the captives.” Boggle pointed at the nearby display screen. “The alarms brought station security onsite and officials are taking custody of all beings in the holding area. An investigation has already been launched. No signs of our involvement discovered so far—that includes the two bodies you left in the shaft, but too much time goes by and they’ll find those.”
“I’ll have to go on a corpse run later, when things have died down.” Kaitlyn stepped over to the cubs, running a hand over the brave one. He accepted her touch without hesitation, despite the difference in her shape.
For the cub, trust was a simple thing. She’d earned it. To Rygard, trust existed as a twisted-up mess inside his head. After all this, he’d trust her in combat to watch his back, probably even follow her lead into any hellhole out there and believe she’d bring him through alive. He’d missed that feeling, leached from his unit over the last few missions.
But the part of him beating inside his chest shrank away at the thought of letting her past his defenses. Something told him he might not survive the hole she’d leave behind.
“Let’s move to the rendezvous point and get these two home.” Kaitlyn coaxed the cubs into a black pack and gently shouldered it, rearranging her knives on her harness to accommodate the bulk but still provide easy access.
“Ever think about adding a gun to your gear, sweetness?” As soon as the question left Rygard’s mouth, Boggle choked up soda.
She turned slowly, burning Boggle first with a look, then turned it upon Rygard. “Hard to pull a trigger with paws.”
Well, she had a point. “Easier to shoot a man from a distance than rip his guts out.”
There it was—Rygard knew the twitch at the corner of her mouth betrayed a smile. He only had to coax it out. She didn’t answer. Instead, she turned and headed for the door.
“I told you so.” The tech-geek slipped in the parting shot as she passed.
Rygard hid a grin. He had to admit, the geek had balls after all.
It was a quiet trip back up to the mainstream levels of the station. Arriving at the docking area, Kaitlyn let Chester loose to return to their ship. When she’d made the call to Skuld, her friend hadn’t asked questions, only sent Chester to Kaitlyn as soon as the ship docked and broke seal.
The questions would hit as soon as she stepped aboard.
How much detail would she give Skuld?
“You think too hard, sweetness.” Rygard was walking in an easy spacer’s stride alongside her, intent on the ship in the docking slip ahead of them. He seemed relaxed, but the tightness around his mouth and eyes betrayed his wariness.
She was wary too. Even if they brought the cubs back, the felids might still want his life, despite their agreement.
She shrugged. “Got a lot to think about.”
“If we get through this, there’s still shit to deal with.” His jaw was working and she could hear his teeth grind.
She studied him for a minute. “Share.”
He sighed. “There’s a standing order to report encounters with people like you, humans with adaptations. Brass wants to keep an eye on any citizens playing with enhancements.”
Kaitlyn digested his revelation. It made sense. The attack on Triton hadn’t been aliens. The invaders had been human colonists, mutated beyond recognition. The military would be wise to keep an eye out for other colonies developing similar science.
She was safe on Dev’s ship as part of his team. “Military knows about me.”
“I still have to report it and my CO won’t wait to check before coming after you.”
“Charming.” She’d have to get back to the ship as soon as possible to avoid killing an idiot.
As they walked the ramp to the felid ship, the airlock cycled open. The two felids stood inside, waiting for them with lashing tails. Her friend, the jaguar, was crouched to one side and not looking warm or fuzzy. Offhandedly, she wondered what they’d been up to in the intervening time and whether Rygard even had a commanding officer to worry about anymore.
Once the airlock closed behind them, effectively caging them inside the ship, the alpha male stepped up to Kaitlyn.
“You have them.”
Moving slowly, Kaitlyn slid the pack off her back and opened it. The male cub emerged first, bursting out in a tawny streak and clinging to her shoulder. He yowled his general displeasure as he looked around him. The little female poked her head out of the pack but stayed inside the perceived safety.
She nudged the male cub with her chin. “What are you doing?” Her answer was a sandpaper tongue licking the line of her jaw and pinpricks where his claws dug deeper for a better hold.
Fantastic.
She looked up at the alpha male. “You want him, come detach him.”
There was a strained silence, and she felt Rygard tense beside her—ready in case things got violent. Kaitlyn wasn’t worried—the only anger she scented in the air was coming from the other male, the less dominant, and he didn’t bother her. Even the jaguar was calmer.
She looked into the alpha male’s face and saw a glint of humor. Her lip curled in challenge. She was not for any being’s amusement, not ever again.
“You.” Kaitlyn pegged the male club with a look. “Let go and get off.”
Needle claws retracted and he slid down into her arms, almost sitting on his sister’s head. Kaitlyn sighed. Tiny ears were laid back and his posture scrunched up in a sad fluffy ball. Scooping him up in one hand, she gave him a consolation nuzzle before placing him on the ground. She lifted his sister out of the bag and placed her beside him. Then Kaitlyn gave them each a pat on the rump to get them headed toward the alpha.
“They are returned, safe and whole.” Despite his acknowledgment, the big male didn’t move to take them. Instead, the jaguar came forward to stand over the cubs.
“Obviously.” Her patience thinned.
When he stepped forward, she stood her ground, and so did Rygard. If anything, the man managed to loom over her without moving closer.
“
Atuanya
.” The alpha reached out to touch her hair, catching a dark lock on a clawed fingertip. She grabbed Rygard’s forearm, signaling for him to stay still even as she held steady under the alien’s scrutiny. “I am known as Naasir.”
She nodded, not trusting her voice. His will was tangible, pressing the air around her. Humans didn’t affect her nearly so much. Then again, she hadn’t encountered many humans willing to go toe-to-toe with her. She was guessing Naasir hadn’t either.
“A gift, for the service you have done our people.” He held up a necklace of shining platinum links so fine, they flowed over his fingers. Hanging from the necklace was a small pendant of blue amber. “Wear it.”
It was not a request.
She was also guessing the necklace held a whole lot of meaning because he put it around her neck himself, fastening it into place. Resisting the urge to bow her head, she kept her chin up and her eyes locked on Naasir’s. Alpha he might be, but she could stand up to his presence just fine. The less dominant male had his ears back in displeasure and Rygard stilled beside her, vibrating with contained anger.
After another moment, Naasir stepped away. Rygard relaxed a fraction. She had to give the man respect. Not too many would have stood their ground, and if they had, they would have lost control.
Naasir finally looked at Rygard. “Blood Hunt is appeased, human. You may go.” He paused. “You are fortunate to have her company. Good things are never finished.”
Well, she had said Rygard would be leaving. Apparently Naasir pitched in his own opinion.
The airlock door cycled open behind them. There must be an audience watching via sensors. And they’d given an eloquent dismissal.
Kaitlyn nodded and backed away. They might behave peacefully, gift and all, but she still wouldn’t give them her back. The spark in Naasir’s eye told her he knew it too. His nod acknowledged her and reassured that he took no insult.
With their feet planted safely on the station deck, Rygard wrapped an arm around her waist. She let him keep his arm if he controlled his temper long enough to clear the alien ship’s surveillance. “I’m escorting you back to your room to get your stuff and seeing you to your ship before they decide to take you back home as a souvenir.”
“Everywhere we go, you’re surrounded by men.” Restless, Rygard paced the length of her room as she packed, seemingly unaware of his frustration.
“Everywhere we’ve been, I’ve been fighting males. Totally different situation.” She tossed her duffel bag onto the bed, gathering what few belongings she had, not looking at him. “In fact, I still need to collect two corpses. I doubt that’s what you’re freaking about.”
He quit his pacing, bracing one arm on the wall next to her. “I’ll take care of the bodies before the station security finds them.”
“No.” Kaitlyn stuck her tongue out at him.
The sudden mischief caught him off guard, and he focused on her lips. Abruptly, he only wanted to do naughty things to her mouth and tongue. Wanted her to do things with them.
Focus
. “I said…”
Shaking her head, she cut him off, giving him a pointed look starting from his feet and traveling the length of his body. Rygard bit back a groan as his cock swelled under her gaze. With effort, he tried to process her next words.
“There’s no way you’ll fit in those ventilation shafts to retrieve it. There’s too much of you.”
Shit. She’d given him too much of an opening. To hell with focusing.
“Too much, huh?” He dipped his chin, giving her an evil grin, watched color rise in her cheeks as she tried to hold up under the heat of his stare. Finally, she ducked her head, the way she had when they’d first met.
She was getting bolder, his Kaitlyn, but still shy for him. God, how could he ever think she could be anything but genuine?