“You are the bravest woman I know,” he says with utmost sincerity.
Tears blur my vision. He believes it, whether or not it’s the truth. Galen thinks I’m the bravest woman he knows and he is begging me to be his mate.
I hate that I want to believe him. “No, I’m not.”
He chuffs in disagreement. “Don’t argue with me.” He straightens, looking energized, his eyes clearing somewhat. “This discussion isn’t over, but for now, we need to get you both to safety.”
Now that I agree with him, we can deal with the mate business later. “Yes, let’s go. Can you stand?”
He’s wobbly at first, but he gets to his feet. All traces of tears are gone when we get to Henry, who is as relieved as I am that Galen is okay.
Henry throws himself into Galen’s arms. “Gawen!”
“Hey, little one. C’mon. We need to find the others.” Neither of us comments on the unspoken if. If they’re still alive.
They have to be.
I wedge myself under Galen’s arm just in case he’s not as steady as he seems and the three of us make our way through the wreckage to the outer door. It takes a mighty shove from Galen, but it opens. The area around us is filled with dust and smoke from the wreckage. It makes for poor visibility, but at least it provides some coverage for our escape.
“This way,” Galen says and we follow him.
Dust fills my mouth and nose. My eyes water from the fumes swirling around me. When Henry begins to cough so hard he can barely breathe, Galen lifts his little body into his arms without a pause. The sight of him carrying Henry strikes me to my core.
Maybe he really is my mate.
Maybe he’s the home I’ve been looking for all along.
Before I can contemplate the thought, Galen stills and I hear his bones popping and see his double fangs elongate. Henry shrieks in delight before Galen shushes him. Then I hear the footsteps. I move closer to Galen. We’re pretty much helpless. No weapons, no place to hide. But Galen seems ready to defend us with fang and claw if necessary.
10
GALEN
I can’t make any sense of where we’re at because of the smoke and dust, only that we’re exposed, unprotected, and injured.
Flying the human ship into the big one was a terrible idea, but Avrell needed to get to the Facility and a distraction was necessary. I knew we’d survive the fall, considering we weren’t that high up, and their ships are sturdy. I’d just hoped for more damage to the massive ship.
While we distracted other ships and were able to give Avrell the opening he required, it wasn’t as I’d hoped. We simply crashed into the mothership hard enough to destroy something important that had us immediately careening to the ground.
“Galen,” Stella murmurs, the slight terror in her tone chasing away the foggy remnants of the crash in my nog and sharpening me to the present.
“Stay behind me,” I growl, holding Henry tighter against my chest.
Several Kevins—er—human men step from the haze, all wearing protective gear and carrying weapons. I could take them all, I am certain, but that would mean leaving Stella and Henry alone and vulnerable.
No.
I refuse to leave their side.
“Hand over the boy and woman,” a deep voice growls. “And no one gets hurt.”
Glancing to my left, I notice the imposing presence of the Facility. All they need to do is run. If I can create some sort of diversion, then Henry and Stella have a chance at making it inside. If they can get to the Facility, Breccan and the rest will look after them.
Even if…
“Don’t do anything reckless,” Stella whispers. “I can practically hear your cogs turning inside your head.”
“I have to do what’s necessary, my mate. To keep you two safe.”
“Galen…”
“On my cue, take Henry and run.”
“Galen—”
“Promise me, zelfyre.”
One of the human men barks out at us, “We don’t have all goddamn day, freakshow.”
I give him a vicious nod before passing Henry into Stella’s trembling arms. Briefly, I bend and drop a kiss on each of their nogs. This might be the last time I’ll ever see them. The mere thought of losing them has an inferno of rage burning up inside me.
“Run hard to the left and then along the outer perimeter. You’ll find a door. Someone will let you in.” I let out a ragged breath. “Three, two—”
A smack to Stella’s rump has her bolting. I don’t waste a second, tearing off toward the human males. Quickly, I assess that there are at least seven that I can see. Without weapons, I’m pretty much useless, but I do have fangs and claws, which are better than nothing.
One of the humans aims his weapon at me, but I’m quick and agile thanks to years of training with morts like Breccan and Draven. I dart left and then right, dodging his efforts to take me down. With a deafening roar, I pounce on him, rolling us through the dirt and knocking over a couple of human men. Grunting and cries of surprise can be heard all around. I ignore all of it to destroy their unit. A quick crash of my fist against the human’s throat renders him unable to breathe, immobilizing him. Rolling away, I lash my claws out, ripping through the material of another man’s suit. He howls in pain as my claws tear away hunks of his skin too.