There was deep-seated hatred in her eyes too, buried there, hidden away, but I could see it. She hated us, the Vakarran species and I couldn’t blame her.
We took Earth because we had wanted to. We had also needed more females to breed and she was unlucky enough t
o be human, a species perfectly compatible with our genetics, surprisingly so. Humans were weak, their skin easily pierced and marked. They had no way to communicate except via speech. Even their fingernails were weak.
Even their weaponry was elementary. Conquest of their planet had been easy, but had they all been like Kira here, I doubted it would have been as simple. She was smart, resourceful, a warrior in her own right.
My own little human badass. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought.
“Finish your bath. It’s time to get to bed. We leave as soon as the sun rises,” I ordered, and her eyelids narrowed slightly.
She didn’t ask where we were going, and I didn’t offer. She’d figure it out soon enough. We all watched while she briskly shampooed and conditioned her hair. Once she finished, she climbed out and we all took the opportunity to enjoy the sight of her wet naked curves. I smirked when I saw her notice us and the ensuing blush that graced her cheeks was amusing.
Coltan stood and moved toward her, taking her shoulders and attempting to push her down to the floor. She fought him, and he slapped her ass hard.
“Keep it up, and you’ll end up straight over my knee,” he warned, and her eyes opened wide in shock for just a moment.
I pressed my palms together in excitement. She eventually gave in, falling to her knees on the dirt in front of him.
She turned her head, choosing not to say anything. Her long chocolate brown hair fell in front of her face and Coltan quickly took it in his hands. He brushed her hair and wasn’t particularly gentle, combing out tangles with a certain firmness that kept her still and obedient.
When he was finished, he helped her back up and guided her into the cage. Her gaze was softer with him than she was with me, and especially different from her dark glares at Aedan, but I’d strategized that between us. Coltan would be the good guy, Aedan the bad guy, and she wouldn’t know about me until I decided what I would be to her.
Zaavyr watched us all and I winked in his direction.
He smirked and shook his head. He took off his shirt and got ready for bed. The rest of us followed suit. I laid down on my own bed and Coltan turned out the lights.
I fell asleep, dreaming of how my little human would soon be trembling under my lash.
* * *
When morning came, we all packed our things together in our bags, leaving behind what we didn’t need. Zaavyr collared Kira and attached a long leather leash to the O-ring at her throat. With packs on our backs and her following behind us, we left the camp to board the small space vessel waiting for us at the airfield not far away.
The trip wouldn’t take long. Our ship was complete with the most up-to-date technology, a super-max capacitor that used dark matter from space to power our engines. It made exiting the Earth’s atmosphere simple and quick, and entry into space a breeze. It would only take us a few hours to approach the ISS Starrider.
Strohass would be waiting too. All of us knew it, but none of us really wanted to say it. He’d give us some time to begin her training, but not much. He’d want to see the human who had killed his friends. Would want to have his own time with her and the four of us were already dreading it.
I shook my head, not wanting to think about it.
I sat down in the central command station on the ship and typed in the location of the Starrider and we lifted off the ground. My mates and Kira sat down in the seats behind me, securing her safely inside her seat with the chest and waist belts that came standard on our ships. I chuckled, noticing they had only put on their lap belts. Typical.
Our ascent began slowly, but the higher we rose, the faster our ship began to move. In no time at all, we left the sorry planet of Earth behind. The other planets of the small solar system rushed by until we approached the ISS Starrider.
Behind me, Zaavyr, Coltan, and Aedan kept a firm hold on Kira’s leash, ensuring that she wasn’t going anywhere unless they allowed it. I turned and grinned at seeing the frustration obvious in her expression. I also realized that the three of them had left their belts out of her reach, meaning no guns or daggers for her to steal.
I saw her sight drop to mine and I stared her down. Gradually, she looked away, her lip poking out in the cutest subliminal pout that I’d ever seen. Ever searching, she analyzed her surroundings, but while I was manning the command, the rest of my mates had made sure nothing was in her immediate grasp.
Caught between the four of us, she looked rather lost.
The trip passed quickly, the four of us keeping ourselves busy with mandatory logs of our time spent on Earth as well as a few required protocols that we had to follow in order to enter the Vakarran station. All of us logged our hours spent in the presence of humans, including names, faces, and any and all conversations.
The data went into our server, for analysis by a specialist in communication. We all filled out the forms, but there were certain things I left out, especially in terms of our relations with Kira thus far. Strohass and his team didn’t need to know anything more than necessary.
Just when we were finishing, I began the final approach to the station. A large metal plate lifted, exposing a great ship terminal meant to hold several thousand small ships the size of ours. The station itself was the size of a small planet, large enough to hold a good portion of our army in location, ready to defend or attack at any time.
As we flew into the ISS Starrider, I deployed the landing gear and our ship landed on the pad smoothly. Once the vessel was secured, I released the doors and heard them open with a hiss. I heard the others move behind me and the five of us ventured down the gangway, into the terminal.
We walked through the safe zones and into the processing area, where my battalion quickly checked in with the commanding officers on duty. It took very little time, but we escaped into the hallways where the officer living quarters were located without any delay. I was particularly pleased that we did so without running into Strohass at all. He probably hadn’t been alerted to our arrival, but I preferred it that way.