weapons. We exchanged glances of excitement, ready for battle. We began to shoot all at once, on Talor’s cue. This asshole was going down.
The dragon burst up into the stars above us, bursts of hot steam along with his powerful tail propelling him out of range of our weapons in a flash. Quickly, we maneuvered our ship according to analysis of his future movements, and I fired a few guns, feinting in a few different directions and then, a few antimatter blasts tore through his right wing. I watched as the thin skin ripped just like paper and then I aimed at his tail, taking out a huge chunk that would render him essentially motionless. I roared in victory as my comrades whooped beside me.
He flew down in a nose dive and a few large barrel laser blasts knocked him off course before he collided directly with our ship, his sheer mass knocking us off kilter for just a second before the ship righted itself. In frustration, his throat began to glow a deep red and he breathed a large volume of fire in our direction, which just bounced off of our shields. His tail whipped back and forth, and his wings flapped, but with the holes we shot in him, he’d lost his momentum. With fury, he breathed hot steam, but it wasn’t enough to propel him.
We lined up our guns and his black obsidian eyes widened in terror. He burst toward us, talons outstretched, ready to tear away at our hull, but it was too late. He couldn’t escape us. He was as good as dead in my eyes.
We had him in our sights. He couldn’t outrun us, fly away from our range anymore. He was fucking done. He’d touched our woman, placed his hands on her flesh without our consent. She was ours. Mine.
He’d beaten her. Smacked her around, tore at her clothes. He would have raped her if we hadn’t arrived in time, maybe even killed her. Either way, I wasn’t going to allow him to breathe ever again after this.
“Let’s kill the bastard,” Ejan growled, his fury palpable.
He deserved to die.
“Fire,” Talor said calmly. His tone wavered, showing signs of his anger at last. We all wanted to take out our revenge. Every single gun on our ship whirred to life and at once, blinding lasers shot straight toward Radock.
He didn’t even have time to scream.
He vaporized right before our eyes, bits and pieces of flesh bursting outward and coating the metal shell of the Xavier station. It was incredibly gruesome, but utterly satisfying. I watched bits of his wings float away in the zero gravity of space.
The four of us sat back and breathed a sigh of relief. For a long moment, we were quiet. Then the screams and whoops of success tore out of each and every one of us.
Dex was the only one who acted first. He commanded our ship to line up with the hole we’d punctured in the Xavier’s hull, and sent forward a suction hull to close it in. Once it was secure, he began to speak.
“Mya, you can come out now,” he said.
She opened the door and wandered out. She bit her lower lip as she climbed into the suction vent, boarding our ship once again.
She was our captive once more and I was ready to teach her what happened to naughty little humans who ran away from their masters. And by the looks of it, all four of us were thinking the same thing.
Chapter Eleven
Mya
I shivered as I walked back onto the Vengeance, a panel sliding shut behind me and sealing me away from the dark recesses of space. I should be angry to be back in my Vakarrans’ grasp, but I really wasn’t. Instead I was relieved.
I felt like I was home.
My four Vakarrans had come for me. Had saved me from the grasp of an evil alien, rescuing me from a life of cruelty and pain. Prince Radock would have used me, likely raping and beating me into submission in order to be his quiet broken queen.
My Vakarrans hadn’t allowed that to happen.
Biran’s voice rang in my head, the memory of his thoughtfulness echoing throughout my mind. He had wanted to take the pain for me. Take the responsibility of Radock’s death on his shoulders, rather than mine. I’d never killed anyone before and he’d known that, saved me from the anguish it might have caused me. My heart warmed, and I shook with joy when I saw all four of them rush down the stairs toward me.
Ejan reached me first, throwing his arms around me roughly and holding me to his chest. The rest followed and at once, I was surrounded by four fierce Vakarran men. My mates. My four Vakarrans.
I could have leapt with joy.
They squeezed me tight, and for a long moment, I felt safe.
But then I remembered my sister.
“Guys?” I began softly. I needed to confess, to tell them why I had run in the first place. I needed them to know it wasn’t anything they had done to scare me away. I needed them to hear me and understand.
Biran looked at me angrily at first, but then quizzically, as well as the others. I gripped his upper arm in desperation. He would understand, I knew he would. I would plead for their forgiveness later but now, I had to beg them to help me.
“He threatened to kill my sister. I don’t know where she is, if she’s still at the Celestial Mates Dating Agency. I don’t know if he stored her away somewhere here on Xavier, if he hurt her or at worst, killed her. Please, help me find her?” I sobbed, tears coming to my eyes, and livid, determined looks immediately crossed their faces.