Pheromone, page 28
part #1 of For the Love of Aliens Series
I put both hands over my face again.
We need a different plan, one that doesn’t risk Abraxas whatsoever.
I drop my arms by my sides.
“We need to find someone that’s on the road and threaten them into looking for Jane for us.” I turn to Abraxas, but he’s already grinning at me. Looking at him right now, it’s hard to equate the maniacal creature with the loving mate. He’s admittedly terrifying. Yeah, erm, I must be soulmates with this guy because he never scared me. Not once. Tabbi Kat would piss her pants. “Does that sound workable?”
“You are a devious female,” he says, snatching me up in his tail and dropping to all fours. He puts me on his back, and it really shouldn’t be sexual, but it is. It is. I grit my teeth and grab onto his horns. That really does it for him. He makes this low purr of frustration, and then hops out of the ship. His wings swing down in a hard motion, and then we’re in the air.
It takes me a few minutes to adjust to being in the sky. But once I do? I’m riding an alien dragon. Are you fucking nuts? It’s amazing.
“This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” I whisper, and Abraxas rumbles. He pulls his wings in sharply, banks a hard left, and then we’re plummeting. I might scream, but only for a second. I snap my mouth closed, nearly losing my grip on his horns, and then he’s coming down hard and using his tail to smash the side of a wagon.
Ah, so that’s what happened to me then.
All I remember was being in the cart and then being on the ground. Nothing in between. Musta scented my sweet femaleness after he nearly killed me, eh?
People—not Tusk Men, but something else—scatter from the wagon as Abraxas swings out his tail and decapitates one of them. The body flops to the ground and blood sprays everywhere.
“Dude, you’ve got to chill out for a second. We need to keep at least one alive.”
“One only. He will not come back for anything but the cargo and only then if he thinks he will get to keep it all to himself.” He scrabbles across the ground, snatching one of the other fleeing aliens by the neck. With a blithe toss, he smashes that guy into one of his teammates like he did to the Tusk Men at the brothel. Abraxas picks another man at random and lands on two feet behind him, snapping his neck and then flinging the corpse to the side.
I can’t even describe what it’s like to exist in that moment.
Maybe it’s better. Maybe it’s worse. Doesn’t matter. This is another planet, and I feel that right now.
“Where did the last one go?” I ask, looking around. Abraxas spots him first, dropping back to all fours and sprinting. He lunges and smashes a clawed hand into the man’s back, pinning him to the road. The alien screams, and it’s the most grating sound I’ve ever heard in my life.
I hop off of Abraxas’ back and come around to squat near his head.
“Can you understand me?” I ask, and it takes a minute, but he eventually shuts the fuck up. “Good. How are you today?”
“Aspis whore,” he spits out, and I don’t even seem to need my translator to understand him. “The whole market is looking for the pair of you.” He smirks at me, but his mouth is wide and fat like a toad’s. The expression looks strange on him, like he picked it up from watching too many humans but doesn’t understand it at all. “Rumor has it that the Vestalis prince wants you—badly.”
Abraxas crushes the man’s neck, spattering me with blood. I lift my head up slowly to look at him, but he’s unapologetic.
“If they’re looking for us, he will not go in there and do what you want him to do. He will report us and lead bounty hunters our way.” Abraxas steps back and licks the blood from my face. It’s … a lot to process. I push him away, and he lets me. “I am sorry that you were dirtied by his spray.” He literally apologizes to me in the midst of carnage.
“Thanks, cutie.” I give his cheek a pat with my hand and then shove up to my feet. I head straight for the ruined wagon, lifting the curtain flap at the back. There’s something inside, like a box or … or a cage.
Pale fingers curl around the bars, and my heart soars. It’s Jane! I step forward, reaching out for my bestie’s hands … when I see the nail polish. No. It’s hot pink. Jane fucking hates hot pink.
“Oh my God, Evelyn!”
It’s Tabbi Kat.
“No. Nope.” I turn around and start walking.
“Evelyn, get your ass back here!” she screeches at me, but I have to take a minute, leaning over and putting my hands on my thighs. I close my eyes and struggle to breathe. Of all the people in the entire universe, it had to be her. A random stranger would be preferable. What is my life? “Evelyn!”
Abraxas moves up to stand beside me, peering down at me with keen interest.
“Another human female?” he asks, and I jerk my head in his direction. I narrow my eyes as he grins at me again. “Jealous already? This bodes well for my chances as your mate.”
“Don’t be an arrogant dick,” I mumble, turning back around to follow him as he peers curiously at Tabbi Kat. As soon as she notices Abraxas, it starts. The screaming, I mean.
“What the fuck is that thing?” she screeches, and I cringe. If the alien man’s screams were annoying, this bitch has just stolen his crown. “Evelyn, run!”
“It’s Eve,” I correct through gritted teeth. “My name isn’t short for anything. I’ve explained that.” I march up to the wagon and then just stand there with my arms crossed. Tabbi looks … pretty bad. I won’t lie. I soften toward her immediately as I study her tangled hair and swollen face, the drab brown gown that she’s wearing. She’s actively crying, cuts and bruises up and down both arms and legs. She’s barefoot. “I thought Trevor and his twin were into you?” I whisper, trying to keep the situation as light as I can.
“What? They’re fucking aliens,” she snaps, eyes widening as Abraxas approaches. “Oh my God, gross. It’s hideous.”
I swallow hard. I’m not ashamed though. Actually, I want to tell people that Abraxas is my mate. I’m pretty damn proud of that. Look at him. He’s a badass—and he’s nice. How often do those two things come in the same package?
“This is my mate, Abraxas.” I hold out a hand to indicate him, and he growls.
“Hello smelly female,” he says, but she can’t understand him. All she’ll hear is that snarl. We’re going to need a third translator.
Despite everything, I’m going to rescue Tabbi. Don’t get me wrong: that doesn’t mean I like her. I don’t. I honestly think I hate her, but she isn’t the worst human ever born. She’s never murdered anyone. Never raped anyone. Never tortured anybody (except with her shitty music). I can’t condemn her to death because her music sucks and she suffers from severe narcissism.
“Your mate?” Her eyes widen to enormous proportions. “You fucked that?” she asks, glancing his way. Abraxas sits there in a gargoyle crouch, one arm over his knee, wings spread, tail drawing patterns in the dirt. He looks like a demon as his horns pulse with amethyst heat. “How? It doesn’t have a dick.”
I look at him, assuming that he’ll show her the way he did me. He doesn’t. I smile and look back at Tabbi.
“Have you seen Jane?” I don’t hold my breath. My friend is crafty. If she was wandering around the market, I’m sure that she’s as free as I am. That is, she’s not actively in captivity, but she can’t get around easily to look for me.
“You’re the only human I’ve seen since you left me in that stupid tent.” She smirks at me, but it’s just sad because she’s so beat to shit. Poor thing. “Oh, and since you lied to me about the Punk’d thing, Jane is definitely fired and so are you. I will ruin your name, and you will never cater another event in Portland or anywhere else in Oregon. Hell, you’ll be lucky if your name isn’t trashed worldwide when I’m finished with you.”
I let her have that. If she actually believes that shit still matters, she’s lost her mind. Also, where the fuck is Madonna, the opossum? No sooner has the thought crossed my mind than the little animal is peeking its head out of the pocket of the ugly brown sack dress. I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Tabitha Katherine,” I begin, using her real name. Tabbi Kat is the nickname her dad gave her before he passed away. There is some depth to this girl. Not a lot. But some. “You’re going to be okay.”
Tabbi collapses to her knees, dropping her face to her hands. She begins to sob as I look back to Abraxas.
“Can you get her out for me?” I ask.
He licks the side of my face in response, and then grabs two bars in either hand. With nary a tensed muscle, he pulls the metal out of the wood frame and tosses both pieces aside. I kneel down and put my arm around Tabbi. I’m just assuming Abraxas can hold us both. He’s not at his largest size, but, as I’ve said, he’s a big guy.
“We should probably get out of here,” I tell Tabbi, helping her to her feet. I look at Abraxas again, trying to gauge what we’ll both be comfortable with when it comes to carrying Tabbi. Frankly, I don’t like her touching him. We should’ve left her in the cage and carried that.
“Grab her,” he tells me, so I do. I turn and put my arms around her, startling her. Tabbi goes stiff all over.
“What are you doing?” she asks, just before Abraxas grabs us both around the waist, hauling us up and into the air.
Tabbi screams the entire way back to the ship.
“Leave me alone!” she screeches, scrambling back into the nook where the remnants of my makeshift bed remain. Madonna peeks her head out again and hisses at me. “Don’t fucking touch me.”
I stay away from her, standing next to Abraxas and in front of Zero’s screen. I have the weirdest feeling that they’re going to like each other, Zero and Tabbi Kat. They’re both dicks.
“I do not like other females in our den,” Abraxas remarks, which somehow makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I know he and I haven’t quite talked about what happened this morning, but somehow, it feels implicitly okay. He sniffs the air and narrows his beautiful eyes. “What is this small prey animal she carries with her?”
“The only North American marsupial—” I start and then cut off when I realize he won’t understand any of that. “A pet.” I turn back to my favorite frenemy. “Tabbi, we’re not going to hurt you,” I say gently, trying to get her to calm down. If I have to listen to her sobbing all night, I’m going to lose my mind. We went out to look for Jane today. I didn’t think we were going to find her. I figured this was something we’d need to do over and over again until the mission was fruitful. Plan B was to wait for Cop Guy to finally show up, and then let him know that he should get Jane first and come back to talk to me once he had her in custody.
I can’t make any final decisions on anything until I talk to Jane Baker. She’ll tell me like it is. She’ll tell me if … if it’s okay to stay. She’ll tell me if I should go home. Whatever it is, I’ll believe her.
“Make him go away,” she grinds out, tucked up tight in the corner with her arms around her legs. “I haven’t met one goddamn alien who was anything less than pure hell.”
“Tell her that I will not leave your side,” Abraxas grumbles, lying on his side with his back against the wall. “You may speak with her, and we will feed her, but then she sleeps elsewhere. I will put her in a den close to this one.”
“Let her stay for one night,” I tell him over my shoulder. He narrows his eyes and curls his lip at me. I turn back to Tabbi and sit down beside her, my own back to the wall, my knees up. Madonna scrambles out of her pocket to perch on her shoulder, whiskers twitching as her pink nose scents the air. “What happened, Tabbi?”
“You first,” she snaps out, but I don’t react to her anger. I left a spoiled brat behind in the market, but this is … well, she’s still a spoiled brat but there’s a fear in her eyes that wasn’t there before. I’ve been so lucky this whole time. Waking up under a sign that advertises humans as food, as entertainment, as sex toys, that’s not funny at all. I know that. I narrowly avoided being a forced bride. I was saved from being raped in a brothel. I’m still alive only because of Abraxas. He isn’t an inconvenient random; he’s my only friend on a planet I don’t know if I can leave even if I did want to. I might be over here thinking I have a choice when I have none at all.
“Well, I was purchased by the guys with the big tusks.” I mime their shape. “Then I was saved by this guy. I went into the market once and made contact with an intergalactic cop.”
I don’t mention the Moth Guy. I really don’t want to think about the Moth Guy and what I just learned from the wagon dude. He’s looking for me? Everyone in the market is looking for us? That can’t be good. I also have a feeling that Abraxas is going to bring up the guy’s statement later. Why on earth would Moth Guy be looking for me? I have to tell my mate about the fucking blood exchange.
“A cop?” Tabbi asks, but then she just sighs and shakes her head. “You’re so naive. This is the rest of our life, you know that? We’re never going home.” She won’t look at me anymore, staring at the wall instead. “I was with Trevor and Taylor for a while. I stayed at their place in the market. It didn’t seem so bad at first. We went out clubbing and had drinks and—”
“You went clubbing?” I ask incredulously. I was out here in the jungle with a busted translator and this bitch was dancing and getting drunk? But maybe … that’s not the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I take it with a grain of salt. “Then what happened?”
“One night, we got attacked on the street. I haven’t seen them since. I was sold to one of those things with the tusks. He put me in this dress and forced me into a wedding, but I escaped. I ran through the woods for days, got bitten to death every single fucking night.” She looks at me with wide, teary eyes, hand absently stroking her pet. “There are shadow creatures with glowing eyes that come out at night.” Her entire body shudders as she looks out the doorway at the twilight sky. “They’ll be here soon enough. If we don’t have a fire, we’ll probably die.”
Tabbi pushes up to her feet and starts to gather sticks, ignoring Abraxas entirely.
“She’s damaged,” I murmur to him, coming back over to stand beside him. I put one of my hands on his horn and curl my fingers around it. I can’t believe I was able to save Abraxas the other night. That was sheer dumb fucking luck on my part. We might’ve both actually died that night. “I don’t want her here tonight either, but she’s not in a good place.”
“Whatever my female wishes,” Abraxas growls, his eyes tracking Tabbi’s movements as she tries … and succeeds in making a fire?! What the hell? With nothing but two sticks? That’s when I notice that she’s gotten a hold of a fire starter somehow.
“Where did you get that?” I ask, coming up to stand beside her. She’s made a roaring fire in less than five minutes. And with an opossum clinging to her back. Impressive.
“I wear it around my neck,” she says absently. “Always.”
Huh.
So Tabitha Katherine has a secret?
“The shadows don’t come here at night,” I explain to her, knowing she won’t believe me. She scoffs and doesn’t bother looking up at me. “Abraxas scares them.”
“I can’t believe you fucked that thing. It looks like an animal to me. Are you a pervert or something?” She’s staring in the direction of the nest, but I can’t explain to her how he tidied and rebuilt his nest to court me. The display in the heat vent. The way he sacrificed the last few hours of his life in an attempt to save mine. She won’t understand, and I don’t need her to.
“Well, he’s anything but an animal.” I stare her down when she looks back at me. Then I correct myself as I lean down to stare at her. “He’s anything but an animal—unless he’s in the bedroom. In that regard, you’d be right.” I smile. “Everywhere else, he’s intelligent and well-spoken and crafty. Plus, he can take down a dozen dudes with cannons and net guns like it’s nothing. Are you sure you want to keep insulting him? He’s letting you stay in his den.”
Tabbi shoves up to her feet and I follow, letting her get in my face.
“You were always pathetic,” she sneers at me, taking her rage out on the first human being she’s seen in weeks. “Jane talks about how sad it is that you work yourself to the bone for people who think of you as less than a slave.”
I cross my arms and wait, letting her vitriol spiral. She’s lost everything. She will never again be the carefree pop star with the massive trust fund. She’s something else entirely now, a dirty, disheveled, and lonely person.
“You’re probably happy being here and fucking some random alien. What do you have on earth to lose? Nothing.”
I shake my head and stare at the floor.
“I have four siblings,” I tell her, wishing I could slap her but knowing that I can’t. “I have loving parents. I have five cousins that I’m super close to. My aunts and uncles are all in my life. I’ve still got two sets of grandparents. I have a huge friend circle, with friends from elementary school and high school and college. Tabbi, I’ve got a lot to lose.” I look back up at her, just a sad, angry human on an alien planet. “So maybe we could just work together for now?”
The idea of being stuck here with Tabbi Kat as the only other human is … depressing. If I’m going to live here, I’d like Cop Guy to at least take her away. You know what I mean? The possum can stay though.
Tabbi shoves me.
Abraxas appears, snatching her violently up in his tail in a way he never did to me. He traps her arms tight against her body and squeezes her hard enough that she has trouble talking. He’s careful not to dislodge Madonna from her shoulder which I appreciate.
“I will put her in the other den. If she does not stay there, she will die in the woods tonight. That will be her choice to make.” He turns and takes off, bounding out and into the trees as I sag back against the wall, eyes closed. I’m suddenly so tired that I could just curl up on the metal floor and fall asleep.
But I don’t have to because … drum roll … I have a beautiful nest.
