PrimalHunger (11 page)

Kendra glanced at her long-time friend. “Because they won’t
stop looking until they find what they’re looking for.”

“Which is what?”

Kendra shrugged. “It could be anything. They may be after
the Valorian.” Kendra removed the clip in her pistol and ran through a
functions check.

“Ah. Slave trade?”

“More like invasion of his people.” She reinserted the clip,
verified the safety was on, and slid it into the holster. It was like coming
home. A spike of pain shot up her legs. She cursed. Too much strain on the feet
in the past few days.

“This from the Valorian?” Reeva’s expression turned
speculative.

“Yeah.” Now more than ever, Kendra felt naked without her
knives.

“Chief.” She hesitated. “We don’t really know anything about
him. The little bit of information I do know about his people could fill up a
single report page. I can’t even get solid linguistics.”

Kendra watched Azros. His attention didn’t stray from her,
not for a second. “I know.” She dragged her attention back to Reeva. “You
should know me better than that. I have enough paranoia for all of us
combined.” She forced a smile she didn’t feel.

“That’s why I’m concerned. He’s compelling without even
speaking. I find myself wanting to trust him immediately. That’s not like me
either.” Reeva looked irritated.

“No doubt about it, this situation requires diplomacy and
discretion.”

“Speaking of the Valorian, I see you two have enjoyed each
other.”

“What makes you say that?” Kendra fidgeted with her holster,
tightening the strap just so.

“He didn’t rip Mase’s head off when we poached on his
property.”

Property. Kendra curled her lip in disgust of that word.
“I’m no man’s property.” Her stomach cramped into agonizing knots. She dragged
in a breath, and a spike of fear shot through her body. Sweat beaded on her
forehead.
Dammit. What the hell?
She immediately thought of poison, but
disregarded it immediately. She reached for Reeva but she was striding away
from the console.

“Well, you’ll have to tell him that.” Reeva spoke over her
shoulder. “It’s almost time.”

The cramps eased and Kendra nodded. She dragged in a breath
and swiped the back of her hand across her forehead. The medscan download had
already finished. She removed the memory crystal and dropped it in her thigh
pocket. Kendra stood and stretched out the kinks in her back. The armless
uniform gave her full range of motion, but it felt unusually itchy against her
skin.

She walked over to where Azros sat, and couldn’t stop her
fingers from touching his face in a gentle caress. His eyes gleamed with
pleasure. Her cold fingers grew warm at the touch. The residual pain in her
legs and stomach became a distant memory. “It’s time to go.”

* * * * *

“Sounds like you two had a time of it.” Reeva paced Kendra
in the hike back to the skiff. The eerie glow of their torches lengthened
shadows, giving the already disturbing flats a foreboding appearance. Mase
ranged ahead, scouting for treacherous terrain, and Kendra couldn’t help but
hope that the moonless night provided further cover for the return to the
Palace. The lights made her uncomfortable, but she didn’t have Mase’s night
vision capabilities or Azros’ affinity with nature to rely on.

“How close did the slimes get to you guys?” Kendra scanned
the edges of the light, searching for a very specific shadow. Sweat broke out
on her forehead, and the strong scents of the night rose in an overwhelming
tide. She paused, dropping to a knee. Reeva dropped as well, eyes on the
perimeter. The stench of rot overpowered the others, and Kendra gagged.

“You okay, boss?” Reeva glanced around their circle of
light. Kendra dragged a breath through her mouth. She scraped the back of her
hand across her lips. Another breath followed. Then another. She gagged again,
and tears welled up in her eyes.

“Kendra?” Shadows slipped from Azros’ body like the hands of
a lover. Kendra nearly choked on a laugh. She was definitely romanticizing the
man, which was ridiculous when he was the cause of her sensory overload. His
fault.

“You.” She stood abruptly and clenched her fists in an
attempt to keep her stomach from rebelling. “This is your fault. You mentioned
a heightened sense of smell. You did not, however, mention that every single
scent on the flippin’ planet would attack me at once.”

“A heightened sense of smell from what?” Kendra didn’t like
the way Reeva was looking at her.

Humor wiped the concern from his face. He even grinned. She
was going to kill him. “I had forgotten all about that. It happened to me the
first time too. You get used to it after a while.”

“The first time for what?” Reeva showed more than mild
curiosity.

“The first mating.” Azros was openly smiling.

“This isn’t a mating.” Kendra’s fists clenched, and for a
moment she was tempted to shoot him. “It’s just temporary.”

The humor in his eyes died to be replaced by something
darker, more intense. It had the hair on the back of her neck rising. “Of
course. My mistake. I guess time will tell.” He flashed a smile that was more
fang than necessary, and slid back into the shadows.

“It is damn creepy how he can do that.” Reeva grinned
appreciatively.

“Yeah, you sound really creeped out. Men are all alike. It
doesn’t matter what race they hail from.”

His laughter slid from the darkness like a beacon against
the chill. Damn him.

“Yeah, but the different races make them all the more
interesting. Like different flavors of ice cream.”

Kendra reluctantly smirked. “Or different poisons to die
from.”

“You’re such a pessimist.” Reeva sighed dramatically. “But
what a way to go.”

Kendra shook her head and gave Reeva a clap on the shoulder.
“You are a glutton for punishment.”

“You’re only sore because that little hottie is keeping just
as many secrets as you are.”

Kendra snorted. There was nothing little about Azros.
Swampland bled into the rising slopes of the crater. Kendra and Reeva both
breathed easier. They were leaving the slimes behind.

“I think you’ve met your match, boss.”

Kendra sighed. At some point her team had taken it upon
themselves to meddle in her life.

“You look better. The sense of smell back to normal?”

Kendra tentatively inhaled. Rot still overpowered the other
scents, but wasn’t overwhelming. “Yes, it is.” She sighed in relief. “So tell
me about the slimes.” She looked forward to being far away from the swampland
stench.

“We saw them from a distance. Our trip to the cliffs was
pretty uneventful. You were right about the caves, of course. We found plenty
of water, food and fuel for a fire. It would have been nice to have a bed
though.” Reeva and Kendra watched another personnel transport fly overhead.

Kendra wondered if Mark and his Sierra Team had run into any
trouble with the Sheon. They reported to base while she was in the field.

“That’s not one of ours.” Reeva’s fists clenched. Both were
quiet until it disappeared into the upper atmosphere. “How bad is this going to
be, boss?”

Kendra’s chest tightened with fear and expectation. “It
depends on the welcoming committee. The Sheon I’ve known in my lifetime are
from two extremes. One group believed in the serenity of the sciences, complete
pacifists. They wanted to split off from the main world and start their own
colony, one that lived on a planet’s surface.”
This planet’s surface.
“The other group was bent on aggression, determined to bring change their way.
This group is probably the one we’ll be facing. They tend to shoot anyone who
disagrees with their ideals.”

“Sounds like one of my family reunions.” Kendra looked at
Reeva in surprise. “There has to be a middle ground between the two.” Reeva
slid down a small trail with Kendra following close behind.

“There always is, but I wouldn’t count on this little
welcoming committee to be anything but hostile.” Kendra wondered whether they
were here for the lost princess or the escaped prisoner. Either way this could
turn into a bloodbath.

“Do you really think they’re here for your Valorian?”

“He’s not my anything, Reeva. And I really don’t know.”

“If they’re after him, what will you do?” Reeva’s steps
slowed.

“I’d like to avoid dealing with them at all costs.” Kendra
recognized the shadowed outline of the skiff.

“We’re not alone, ladies.” Mase’s voice came over the comm,
quiet and full of caution.

Three things happened at once—her senses dropped into
hyperawareness, she turned off her torch, and her weapon was drawn with safety
off. Reeva continued on while Kendra moved quickly to the dwindling tree line.
“Friendly?”

Every footfall sounded clumsy and loud, and she tried to
adjust her movements. She was prepared, this time, for the pungent odors
threatening to overwhelm. Kendra didn’t need to see him to feel Azros moving
around the perimeter. This was kind of amazing. For a split second she
considered the benefits to mating.

Before Mase could answer, the sounds of a scuffle came from
behind the skiff. Kendra dropped to a knee, scanning the perimeter. “Kill the
light.”

Reeva complied. Kendra resisted the urge to run to the
skiff. There was no telling if it was a trap.

“Dammit, Chief, get your Valorian under control. He’s
attacking Jackson,” Mase called over the comm.

Kendra cursed and raced to the skiff.

“Destiny’s gonna have our asses if her man gets dead.”
Reeva’s voice rang with anxiety.

Kendra smirked. She knew the history of every person in
Destiny’s employ. Jackson’s record proved he could hold his own, but from what
she’d seen so far, so could Azros. He was the wildcard. Kendra reached the
clearing and was hit with the feral scent of Azros. Her heart stuttered in her
chest. She bared her teeth.
Danger.
Was this territorial madness?
Fuck!
Fear and adrenaline mixed, and she did the one thing no sane woman would ever
do in her life—launched between two fighting men.

“Azros, stop.” She narrowly avoided Jackson’s fist, and used
her forward momentum to hit the Valorian at waist level. It was a dangerous
move, and one that she would have never done against an enemy. Her body was too
vulnerable to a counterattack.

She hooked an arm around his leg and twisted her body,
tangling him up. He roared against the hold and fought like a wild man
.
Fate!
He was going to seriously hurt one or both of them if he didn’t come
out of it. “Azros.” Panic cracked her voice. Azros froze.

“Kendra?” The hesitant question surged relief through her
system.

“Yeah. He’s the not the enemy. Stop. Fighting.” They both
sucked in deep gulps of air. Azros was a tough man to grapple with.

Reeva arrived and flashed on the torch. She kept it to the
ground, but Kendra’s eyes burned from the light. “Hello, Jackson.”

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. “Kendra. Reeva.
Where is Mase?”

“Here.” Mase stepped from the shadows.

“Jackson. One of yours?” Azros slowly untangled himself from
her body.

“One of Destiny’s men. Higher up the food chain.” She looked
up at Jackson’s grim face. “Much higher.” She let Azros go and debated
remaining on the ground. The rocky surface was almost comfortable at this
point. Hell, her back was stuck between pain and pleasure, and she wasn’t doing
a thing.

Azros held out a hand and she took it, letting him drag her
to her feet. She slapped her hands against her uniform, dislodging dust in a
puffed cloud.

“Sorry about that.” Azros held out a hand to Jackson. “Azros
del Mar, Valorian Prime.”

Kendra froze mid-swipe. “Del Mar?” He’d only introduced
himself as a Valorian Prime.

Azros blinked, and bowed as if in apology. She couldn’t see
the expression on his face, but imagined he was disgruntled. “Forgive me,
Kendra. It’s my formal last name. Valorian Prime is my title, like the word
chief from your subordinates.”

Kendra raised an eyebrow and stepped away from the two men.
It irked her that he didn’t tell
her
his full name. If he hadn’t been so
close to the edge, would he have let that much slip to Jackson?
It’s not
like you’ve told him everything, either.

“Jackson Riley.” They gripped forearms in common
introduction.

If Jackson was here, that meant Destiny was alone. A fact
that didn’t sit well with her. At all. “Why are you here?”

“I’ll brief you on the way.” He looked around the area,
likely searching for Mase, who’d disappeared again. “Reeva and Mase are to
report back to the facility ASAP. They’re needed for a debriefing.”

“Get moving, you two.” Kendra pounded a fist with Reeva as
the woman passed. She looked at Jackson. “What about us?”

She heard Mase’s grumbling as he climbed into the skimmer.
Reeva’s quiet laughter as she followed behind. The group moved away from the
thrust path and waited until the skiff thundered off to continue the
conversation. Her eyes grew accustomed to the dark much quicker than she
expected. Jackson looked worried, and that was scary.

“You get a special debriefing, all your own.”

Azros silently stepped up against her back, providing a
comforting support.

“Lucky us. Who’s taking care of Destiny?”

His lips twisted in a grimace. “Destiny can take care of
herself, as she is often reminding me. I have the other security teams on
alert, and a tracker on her just in case.”

Kendra’s eyebrows rose. “I’m surprised she went for a
tracker. She hates those things.” It was a bug that recorded every aspect of
the individual—vital signs, conversations, and even tracked location
information.

Jackson cleared his throat.

Understanding dawned. “She doesn’t know she’s being
tracked.”