Raines, Elizabeth - Marooned [Wicked Missions 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (10 page)

Pursing his lips, Lincoln seemed to think it over a long time before he stuck out his own paw, which looked more like a human hand than a bear claw because of its opposable thumb, for Drake to shake.

“Now,” Linc said, turning back to Betinsa, “what in the hell are we going to do to kill those fucking Dracorians before they go after your planet again?”

Chapter 8

“I need to get up a little higher so I can see.” Betinsa grabbed the branch above her and hoisted herself up. Until she could get above the canopy of the thick leaves, she would never be able to get a good look at the Dracorian camp. How Linc and Hannah had been able to see it was beyond her because the whole area was blanketed with netting the same color as the surrounding trees. Yet, if she could get just a little higher…she might be able to see what the yellow-skinned bastards were concealing beneath the camouflage. “Almost there.”

“Careful, Indigo,” Hannah said, her voice buzzing in Betinsa’s ear. “You’re getting awfully high up there. Hate to explain to your mates that you fell and splattered your pretty little ass on the ground.”

“Tinsa… Be careful,” Matt said.

“Please,
lamanna
,” Drake added.

Thank God for the communicators Linc had given all of them. Hannah had trained her adopted son well in technology—her specialty. But he’d surpassed his teacher, tinkering with all sorts of gadgets, including the tiny earbuds they all now used to communicate. It was such a comfort to hear all of their voices and to know they could hear hers. “See anything yet?” Hannah asked.

“No, not yet… There is no—” And then she finally reached a level where the leaves thinned, and Betinsa saw exactly what the interlopers were hiding.
Both things
they were hiding… “Oh no… Please no… It can’t be…”

“Betinsa?” Matt said in her ear. “What’s wrong?”

She couldn’t even bring herself to say the words aloud, so reprehensible was the Dracorians’ crime against the Fraiquan people. Twin roars suddenly rent then air as if the prisoners held down by ropes knew she’d discovered them. “They’ve captured…the Charhocks.”

“Charhocks?” Drake asked. “You said
Charhocks?
I thought there was only one.”

“As did I,” she whispered back. “It would seem the shaman hasn’t told us all we should know about our sacred protector. Rather…
protectors
. Two are before me, bound to the ground with thick ropes.”

For her whole life, Betinsa had seen her paths laid before her and somehow immediately recognized their importance. The moment she’d arrived on Earth, she’d known she would make it her new home. The day she met Matt Newton, she’d realized that they would one day mean a great deal to each other, something more than being partners. And the first time she’d seen Drake Keller, she knew that she was truly Fraiquan, desiring two men rather than merely one.

Now, Betinsa finally understood why her creator had seen fit to have her ship crash on Katenya. She now knew her sacred duty and why the Charhock hadn’t come for her to make her life a sacrifice for violating his hallowed ground.

She was here to save him. And his mate.

Should the Dracorians succeed in killing the Charhocks, the despair would bring Fraiqua to its knees, spiritually crippling her people to the point they would never be able to mount a proper defense against another Dracorian invasion. A brilliant plan, but one Betinsa would be sure never came to fruition. No matter what it cost her, no matter what she had to do, she would make sure the Charhocks were freed.

Hannah was waiting when Betinsa reached the ground. “What’s the plan?”

Betinsa popped her communicator out of her ear, dropped it to the ground, and stomped it flat.

“What the fuck…?”

Before Hannah could move, Betinsa plucked the small earpiece from her friend’s ear and destroyed it as well. “From here, we go alone. I would prefer going without you, but I know you, my friend. You won’t be left behind.”

“But what about the guys?”

“I won’t put them in any more danger.”

With a small tilt of her head, Hannah considered Betinsa for a few long moments. “You love those two, don’t you?”

Since lying seemed futile, she nodded. “With all that I am. They are my mates, and I must protect them. I’ll go for the Charhocks myself. I would be honored should you choose to guard my back.”

“Fuck that. I’m with you, Indigo!”

“No. You may not go. The Charhocks will not understand. I’m Fraiquan; they’ll…recognize my breed.”

Settling her hands on her slender hips, Hannah frowned. “The guys seem like they can handle themselves. I know the women are the warriors in your world, but surely—”

“I won’t place them in danger!” Betinsa lowered her voice and tried to calm her panic at the thought of anything bad happening to Matt or Drake. “I must be sure they return to Earth. I vowed they would go home.”

“So you’ll marry them there? Didn’t know Earth allowed that yet…”

Betinsa shook her head. “They won’t join with me. They don’t love me as I love them. They would suffer should I make them my husbands. I can’t go back to Earth with them. I’ll…stay on Fraiqua. I face my punishment for being on Katenya.” Hannah’s frown deepened, but when she tried to speak, Betinsa stopped her with an angry slash of her hand. “We’ll discuss this no further.” Taking a deep breath, she softened her tone. “Don’t worry, Hannah. I’ll protect all of you from the shaman. This was my sin and my sin alone.”

Hannah snorted an acerbic laugh. “You really think your…
mates
will just leave you here and fly back to Earth? Just like that?”

“I’ll be sure that they do.”

“You love them, but you’d drive them away? Why not tell them how much you love them, then propose and let them decide?”

Betinsa emphatically shook her head. “I can’t tell them of my feelings, nor may I propose a joining. Drake is an ambassador. He cannot marry another species. Matt is an E.B.I agent—”

“And your
partner,
” Hannah interjected. “You think he’ll let you go that easy?”

“He must. E.B.I. agents aren’t supposed to marry aliens. I won’t take his job away from him. Or Drake’s away from him.” Trying to fight the threatening tears, Betinsa swallowed hard. “I’ll do what I must to protect them both. Now, I wish to put this matter aside so that I can go after the Charhocks.”

Although Hannah clearly had more to say, she finally nodded. “All right, Betinsa… Let’s go get ’em.”

* * * *

Matt crouched in the bushes next to Drake as they waited for Betinsa and Hannah to join them. He counted six Dracorians, but there had to be more inside the tent they’d erected next to the two enormous creatures they seemed bent on torturing by poking them with stun-sticks every time they walked by. He didn’t see any laser pistols, but why should they be armed to the teeth? No one was supposed to know they were on the moon since Fraiqua didn’t monitor it.

“So those are the Charhocks,” he whispered to Drake.

“Impressive, aren’t they?” Drake replied.

Impressive indeed
. They had the body of one of Earth’s black panthers, albeit ten times the size. Attached to the shoulders were extraordinarily beautiful blue wings—the same color as Betinsa’s skin—the span of which had to reach at least twenty meters. How had the Dracorians managed to capture and hold them?

How long had the aliens been planning this maneuver? Hard to tell since no one on Fraiqua knew about them. Sacred or not, staying blind to what happened on Katenya was a stupid policy. Perhaps Drake could have a discussion with the Fraiquan government after all this was over and let them know if they didn’t change their strategy, they were nothing but proverbial sitting ducks.

Damn good thing the
Mirhala
had crashed on Katenya. The ship, although now officially “deceased,” had been aptly named. It truly had brought about a miracle.
More than one
. The rescue of the Charhocks would be Betinsa’s miracle.

But
she
was Matt’s miracle.

He also had to admit that he’d grown closer to Drake than he had any other man he’d ever known. Since Matt had been an only child, he imagined Drake was the closest thing to a brother he would ever know. When this whole thing was over, Matt was going to marry Betinsa come hell, high water, or alien invasion. He imagined Drake felt the same. Something about the
comchi
had changed them all, and he thanked God for that
mirhala
.

Pointing behind them, Matt eased back, belly-crawling until he pulled out of the bushes, intent upon seeing what Hannah and Betinsa had discovered. Once they put all the information together, they could figure out the best way to launch an attack.

“Linc?” Matt whispered. “Heard anything from the girls yet? I can’t seem to get them to reply.”

A snorted laugh sounded in his ear. “For an E.B. I. agent, you’re a dumb ass. Sure wouldn’t let Hannah catch you calling her a
girl
, you overgrown ape. She’ll cut off your dick.”

“Are you sure you’re not related to my boss, Linc?” Matt asked softly, trying not to laugh. “You two sound too much alike.” Drake’s lips had drawn to a thin line, so Matt figured the man’s patience had come to an end. “Have you heard from them?” Matt asked again. “I hate that we can’t hear them now.”

“No word yet,” Linc replied, “and not a clue why the communicators stopped working. Trying to scan the area, but… Wait. There’s a blip. There’s another. Shit. I don’t know how they did it, but they’re both inside the Dracorian camp.”

* * * *

“I don’t like this, Betinsa,” Hannah whispered as she held her laser pistol at ready. “How long do you think they’ve had those panthers tied up?”

“Only a few hours. The gremtils would have attacked all of them before today.” She stared at the beautiful creatures, her heart aching at how brutally they were being treated. “I have to free them.” Strapping Hannah’s knife against her thigh, Betinsa took a steadying breath. She knew Matt and Drake would be furious that she was going in by herself, but her heart told her it was the right thing to do. If she would have been able, she’d exclude Hannah as well. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a possibility now. At least with their communicators gone, they didn’t have to listen to Matt, Drake, or Linc scold them.

“Why don’t you at least shape-shift to look like one of those assholes? Blend in and all…” Hannah suggested.

“I can’t. My energy would be too drained to help the Charhocks. I’ll be myself to keep them calm as well.” With a deep, steadying breath, she said, “Watch my back, Hannah. I’m going in.”

Betinsa crouched in the thick trees closest to the smaller of the Charhocks, knowing it was the female—the warrior—shielding herself in the growing shadows. The suns had set, and she’d waited patiently for the dark to deepen so she could get to the female Charhock without being seen. She knew if she could free her, she would help her defeat the Dracorians and rescue her mate.

The smell of the Dracorians’ meal drifted through the air, catching Betinsa’s nose and making her gag. Whatever they were eating, it smelled rotten. The last soldier guarding the Charhocks must have smelled the odor as well because he gave the Charhock one last poke with his stun-stick and then headed toward the same tent all the other soldiers had entered.

The moment she’d waited for had arrived. Having studied her enemies’ culture, she knew they stopped everything for their last meal of the day, guided by their stomachs as if they had no control. The Charhocks were unguarded, but only for enough time for her to free one.

Running through the dark, Betinsa stumbled once, twice before she reached the first of the thick ropes holding the panther to the ground. Yanking the knife from its sheath, she started sawing through the first tie and whispered in her own language, “Be calm, my friend. I shall free you.”

A slow purr rose from the Charhock. She stilled her struggle against the bonds as if understanding Betinsa had come to help. Betinsa wanted to reach out and stroke the ebony fur, but she focused on hacking away at the sturdy rope. Laughter from the Dracorians rang through the air from time to time. She hoped they would take plenty of time to relish their disgusting meals and leave her in peace. “Go ahead and celebrate, you bastards. You won’t win this fight.”

The Charhock purred a little louder.

The first rope let out a loud pop when it snapped apart. Betinsa looked around, holding her breath and praying that her enemy hadn’t heard. More laughter from the tent helped slow the staccato rhythm of her heart, and she shifted to start on the next rope. Gritting her teeth, she worked as hard and as fast as she could to hack away at it.