Saved and savaged, p.1
Saved and Savaged, page 1
part #2 of Warrior Elite Series Series
Saved and Savaged
Warrior Elite Series Book 2
V.T. Bonds
Copyright © 2022 by V.T. Bonds
Cover design by V.T. Bonds
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Table Of 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
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Keep Up With V.T. Bonds
Dedication
To all who told me I couldn’t: Here’s my middle finger. I did it. I proved you wrong, over and over again. You’re welcome.
Chapter One
Keziah
It’s not enough. It never is.
I clutch the top of the bag in my fist, holding it closed despite the strap crossed over my shoulder. If I don’t guard it carefully, pickpockets will snatch up the meager contents. The chaos of the street surrounds me, but I keep my feet on the path I always take on Tuesday afternoons.
Skirting around the barefoot gang of boys kicking the ball of garbage back and forth, I hurry down the street toward the hut I’ve lived in my entire life. Before I take the last turn, I glance over my shoulder and make sure no one’s following me.
I don’t expect anyone to be, but old habits die hard. Even with my bag mostly empty, there’s always the threat of getting jumped for the contents.
Off on the horizon, the old city buildings tower above the crowd of huts, a dark stain left by our ancestors. Only the worst type of businesses remain within the decaying city limits.
My babu visits there often. Not by choice, but because mouths require food, and he has many to fill.
My throat scratches as I swallow, the dry air and lack of water a constant drain on my energy, but I push through the discomfort and finish the trek home.
Peering through the open window, I breathe a sigh of relief as I count four little heads and hear my mother’s soft singing. After moving the curtain just enough to slide through the front doorway, I make sure it closes behind me so the sun doesn’t heat the air of the entryway.
“Kezzie, you home!”
I slide the bag to the small of my back and squat down, opening my arms for the incoming hugs. Two tiny arms wrap around my chest and give a slight squeeze—my sister Jestu is always the first to greet me when I get back home. At four years old, she still holds an exuberance for life and more energy than the rest of us combined. I tighten my arms around her and bury my nose in her braids, filling my nostrils with her scent.
She wiggles out of my embrace and pulls her twin, Jutin, into the space she just occupied. I trail my fingers down the side of his face and kiss his forehead, respecting his preferred physical boundaries. His clear blue eyes stand out against our dark flesh, the power and knowledge resting within just waiting for the day when his body transitions into adulthood. Wiser and more sedate than any child has a reason to be, he graces me with a small smile before turning and grabbing Jestu’s hand. He drags her away, knowing she’ll never let me pass deeper into the house if he doesn’t distract her.
I stand and rest my palm on Sierra’s shoulder, searching her eyes for an update. When she offers me a little smile and shakes her head side to side, I nod in relief before squeezing her shoulder. At twelve years old, she should accompany me to the market, but I can’t leave mama without help while I’m gone. I kiss her temple and shift to step away, but she grabs my hand with both of hers.
“What is it?”
“I do not know. I have a bad feeling.”
I search her expression again and note the worry lines on her brow. She weaves her fingers within mine and shakes her head again, sending her short black hair bobbing back and forth.
“Like how I felt before Babu came home all bloody,” she whispers, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the twins and mama aren’t listening.
Knowing there’s nothing I can do to soothe her, I slide my hand out of hers and wrap my arm around her shoulders, tucking her against my side.
“Come, let us make dinner.”
She rests her head on my shoulder for half a second, taking comfort before straightening her spine and turning her attention to our family.
Mama sits in her normal spot, propped against the wall beside the south-facing window. With most of her nesting materials either tucked under her or stacked against the wall so she can enjoy the breeze, her round belly seems to fill her lap.
“Keziah, my love, I am so glad you are home.”
“Me too, mama. How is the parasite?”
She chuckles at my nickname for the babe in her womb, knowing I love the new life just as much as she does, no matter how hard it will be to provide for them.
“Bruising my ribs and crushing my bladder. All good things. That little devil, though—” she points at Jestu with a sparkle in her eye, “will be the reason I have a heart attack.”
“What did she do?”
“More of the same. She is a wild one, my Jestu.”
I smile with her and lower to my knees in front of her makeshift pallet. She grabs my wrist and guides my palm to her belly. The babe kicks my hand, soothing the angst in my chest.
Little toes sweep along mama’s ribs, and after some gentle prodding, I locate knees and a shoulder. Exhaling in relief as I confirm the baby’s head points downward, I meet Mama’s dark brown eyes and look past the strain caused by years of hard living and see the headstrong, resourceful woman underneath.
She pulls me forward, kisses my forehead, and motions me away, knowing I will not rest until I’ve fed everyone.
My knees crack as I stand, but the twins’ high-pitched voices mask the sound despite how quiet they speak. With full strides to hide the stiffness of my joints, I cross the room and open the only solid door within our three-room home. Besides the main living area, there’s a bedroom in the back we all share and the tiny kitchen I stand in now.
Pulling the strap off my shoulder, I set the bag on the low built-in ledge along the left wall and stoop down to check how much fuel remains in the little canister under the single burner stove.
I’ll have to trek all the way to the fifth square for a refill if babu does not come home in the next three days. Staying in a squat, I lean to the side and yank open the lid of the buried box, grateful to see everything is as I left it.
With the sun so hot, the coolness of the ground is the only way to keep food for longer than a day, even the dried grains and powders which were packaged to last for months. I take out the jar of green powder and carefully set it next to the bag, closing the box and moving the only pot we own onto the burner. After emptying the contents of the bag onto the ledge, I grab our one knife and chop the items into tiny cubes. Three fresh root vegetables, two chunks of dried meat, and a handful of white grains clunk into the bottom of the pot. The bucket of water in the corner of the room feels suspiciously full when I pick it up. I pour just enough into the pot to cover the ingredients and turn on the burner to its only setting.
I stomp into the living room, snatch up Mama’s water tin, fill it from the bucket, and cup her hands around it.
When I turn to go back into the kitchen, bright light blinds me. I freeze in place, hating the fear coursing down my spine as I wait for the person standing in our front door to show themselves.
“Babu! You are home!”
Jestu moves first, greeting our father with wary enthusiasm. I hurry into the kitchen to finish dinner, my heart pounding in my ears.
I fix the meal onto our family platter, carefully sprinkling the appropriate amount of dark green powder onto the individual portions. When it comes time to put the nutrient dense powder onto my own food, I glance over my shoulder to make sure no one is watching and stir half of it into my mama’s instead.
“Keziah.”
My shoulders tense. Babu never enters the kitchen, yet he stands in the tiny space with me now.
With dread in every movement, I turn around.
“Babu, dinner is ready.”
“Come outside.”
My stomach drops to the floor, his flat tone frightening.
Too afraid to ask questions, I clasp my hands in front of me and follow him through our tiny home, glimpsing the confusion on my mama’s and siblings’ faces, barely noting the tears in Sienna’s eyes before stepping onto the dusty street.
I follow my father’s slim shoulders around the corner, wondering not for the first time how massive he could have been if he’d had proper nutrition during his childhood. Like most alphas in the slums of Gotawe, he stands taller than the average beta male, but remains lean and trim, as though no amount of food
No matter how much smaller he may be than the alphas he works for, he’s still imposing, still bigger and stronger than I could ever hope to be. He’s never raised a hand against me or mine, but I always worry the darkness lurking in his eyes will break free.
“I am sorry, Keziah.”
Two giants step into view from the alley behind him. My sandals freeze to the hard packed dirt as terror arrows down my spine.
“No, babu. What have you done?”
But I already know. I just want to hear him say it.
“You must go with them.”
“No. Please.”
He does not speak. Does not move. Merely watches as the massive males stalk toward me.
At the last second, my muscles bolt into action, but it’s no use. I turn, only to find another brute blocking my path.
Searing pain runs up my neck. The boulder of an alpha pulls the needle out of my flesh and wraps his meaty fingers around my biceps. As the world upends and darkness swirls along my periphery, a cool numbness sweeps through my veins. With the black material covering the alpha’s back filling my vision and my arms dangling down to bump against his butt, I slip into a sleep deeper than I’ve ever known.
In the darkness, the truth repeats over and over.
My father sold me to three terrifyingly huge alphas.
Chapter Two
Gric
“They are coming.”
The look of shock on Craize’s face at Steil’s words gives way to fury. His newly mated omega dons a look of hatred, yet we all know it’s just a mask. The scent of her terror carries clearly through the air despite the wind attempting to whisk it away.
Mirth bubbles within my chest, escaping on a chuckle as I saunter closer to the new couple. Steil slaps an arm across my chest, halting my forward momentum and glaring over his shoulder at me.
“What, I can’t congratulate them?”
“Back off, Gric. This isn’t the time,” says Steil, the grey alpha barring me from stepping forward. He may be our Commander, but sometimes his lack of humor makes it too tempting to push his buttons.
Plus, the ugly teal brute a few feet away has always been fun to poke and prod.
“Tits on a tentacle, of course they’re coming. We just infiltrated their second-largest facility, stole their prized possessions, and murdered hundreds of them.”
The tiny female growls, the feminine sound surprisingly terrifying.
“I was one of those ‘prized possessions’, and I think you should shut up. There’s nothing funny about any of this.”
Craize wraps his scarred arm around her shoulder and pulls her close to his side. Another scoff sneaks from my chest.
“There’s always something—”
Commander Steil pulls his arm forward only to yank it back and dig his elbow into my gut, right below my sternum. My diaphragm seizes, but I smirk into his furious face and rub the spot.
He’s a wonderful source of entertainment.
“So, we’re preparing for their arrival?”
Craize’s tight voice displays his unhappiness, even though he’s enjoyed using his lethal prowess against the ISC for decades.
I guess having his lifemate in danger doesn’t sit well with him.
Canine on a cunt, but he’s become soft in the last few days. Not even a week ago, he was shredding foes without a backward glance. Now he’s clinging to the slip of a female and trembling in fear.
Fine, he isn’t cowering, but I sense a shift in him. One that threatens to change everything. One that alters the team dynamics and opens the future to massive alterations.
I don’t like it.
Taking down the ISC has been our mission for years, but the moment we land on this boring planet, he decides to find his lifemate and become a complete softy.
It’s disgusting.
The Intergalactic Science Corps, the largest organization across the galaxies, destroys entire species and runs horrifying experiments on whomever they please. All in the name of science, so they claim, and all incognito—they stand in plain sight, hiding behind a bold ruse and keeping the public in the dark.
I’m not done fighting them. In fact, I won’t stop until we’ve annihilated every last ISC scientist, soldier, and supporter on Mai’CuS, this decrepit planet we plan to inhabit.
Steil’s secondary set of eyelids ghost across his cold stare, their transparency meaning his eyes won’t dry out no matter how long he glares at me. He drags his gaze away, no doubt hating to lose my challenge in order to answer Craize’s question.
“No. They haven’t moved their army outside of the facility, but a scouting party was discovered heading our way.”
“So, they aren’t coming?”
Craize’s female, Raeni, sounds more angry than relieved. What an annoying brat. Poor Craize. He has his hands full.
I open my mouth to make a verbal jab, but Steil talks over me.
“We’re going to ensure they don’t with a decoy attack.”
At her confused look, Craize explains.
“An attack and retreat, leading them elsewhere before disappearing.”
I can’t help it. I laugh as her expression turns stern.
My laughter dies as she tilts her face up to her lifemate’s and he responds with tenderness. He strokes her cheek with a scarred finger before meeting Steil’s gaze.
“I’m not going. I’ll attach to a unit here, but I can’t leave her alone and she can’t go.”
My stomach drops to my toes as Steil merely nods. I hide my warring emotions behind a huff.
Orange scales brush against my arm as Fek, another member of my team, steps around me and extends his hand toward Craize.
“We knew you’d say that, so I altered our communication units. Here’s yours—you’ll be able to hear us from anywhere on the planet, but the long distance line isn’t secure, so we may go silent at times.”
Fek drops the earpiece into Craize’s outstretched palm before backing away. He knocks his elbow into me as he walks by, giving me a warning, even though we all know I won’t behave. His love tap doesn’t budge my bulk, but I hold in my response as Lyc’s dark red form strides forward.
The last of my team members, Lyc is the male I mess with the least. My instincts have never led me wrong, so I listen every time they tell me to avoid the other alpha.
He merely passes a container of water to Craize, nods, and returns to his brooding perch at the top of the hill behind us. The tip of my long, smooth, rope like tail twitches as I survey the distance between him and me, but I wrap the end around my forearm and swing my attention back to Craize. Lyc doesn’t pose a physical threat—I’ve trusted him with my life on multiple occasions—but his abilities make me wary in other settings.
“We’ll be here when you return.”
“You mean you’ll be in there when we return,” I say, gesturing toward their tent. I grunt and laugh when Steil strikes me with his elbow again, the pain nothing compared to past injuries.
“Yes, we probably will.”
Craize’s straightforward answer has his female’s face heating and scent thickening, earning him a glare from her tiny eyes.
As he pushes her back toward the tent, a streak of envy spears through me. I don’t want a mate, but sinking into a soft feminine body sounds enticing.
If only females weren’t so weak and breakable. With my size, an omega would need to be large and sturdy, just like the females of my race. Stexans rarely venture out of our native solar system, so since I left home, I’ve towered over most other beings.
I tip my fingers off my brow, sending Craize a mock salute before turning and stalking over the hill. The wind brushes against my fore horns, their weight soothing amidst the swirling thoughts in my head.
I shake my tail out behind me before letting it curl around my bicep in its normal resting state.
Despite the agitation in my mind, my cock strains at my trousers. I do not need the distraction, so I push the discomfort away and turn my attention to my surroundings.
A large body of water stretches across several miles to my right, with vegetation growing along the nearest shore.
The brigade has only been on Mai’CuS for about eight months, but we’ve accomplished so much already. When we first landed here, there was only desert as far as the eye could see, but after wrecking a few underground dams and using technology Commander Draukir stole from his original command, now a small oasis sits among the dunes.
