CAPTURED: 9 Alpha Bad-Boys(172)

"My older brother sold me to a trader," Fred responded with a grunt as  he pushed the large rock he was carrying into the bin. "He did not want  me in his way."

Riley paused in horror. "Why would he think you were in the way?" she  asked as she walked back over to the ever-growing pile of rocks the men  were creating. "Hell, even my sainted sister won't sell me, no matter  how much I piss her off, which is about every time I open my mouth."

"I am the second oldest. My older brother is not good with our father's  business. I am very good, and my father decided I should take over  instead of my older brother. He paid credits to some traders to take me.  Now, I will die here," he said disgruntledly.

Riley stopped from where she was lifting another large rock. "Like hell  you will! I'll take care of you. You are not going to die in this shit  hole. We just have to escape," she responded confidently. "Do you know  how to fly one of those spaceships?"         

     



 

"No," Fred replied sadly before perking up. "But the cat warriors know  how. They are known for their fighting skills, and their warships are  renowned for their speed."

"Cat warriors?" Riley asked as she walked back over and dumped the large rock in the bin with all the others.

"Yes, your mate is their king. I have heard about him. He is very scary.  He kills those who defy him," Fred said, struggling to lift a  particularly large rock over the side.

Riley frowned as she bent to help him. Why the hell does he call them  the "cat" warriors? I thought they're called Sara-something.

She stretched once the rock was in and rubbed her aching back. She was  exhausted, and they had only been at it for about two hours. She really  needed some coffee. A nice latte would be fabulous right about now.

Fred must be mistaken, she thought as she looked over to where Vox,  Lodar, and Tor were swinging the strangely shaped, curved pickaxes.

All three had muscles out the yin-yang, and their bodies glistened with  sweat as they worked to clear another section of the cave. They didn't  talk while they worked. Bob was working on another section and appeared  to be having problems holding the ax correctly because his pile of rocks  was miniscule compared to the others. The Antrox guards were stationed  at the different exits leading into the area they had been brought to  and were ignoring them.

She turned back to study all three men carefully for a moment as they  worked. Each had a different pattern of spots on his upper body that ran  down his chest and back before disappearing under the low waist of his  pants. She felt a shiver of apprehension run through her as she  remembered their eyes. All three had similar eyes, but what caught her  attention the most was that their pupils were slits instead of round  like a human's. A bad feeling began to sink in as she noticed other  differences. They had no problems seeing in the dim corridors. She would  have walked into a wall or tripped a dozen times as they were marched  deeper into the mine if it hadn't been for Vox. They moved lightly on  their feet just like the old cat she had when she was a kid. Half the  time she couldn't even hear them walking. And Vox had roared like a  wounded cat when she sprayed him with the pepper spray. He sounded a lot  like that lion that came on before a movie from MGM studios. Other  details came back as well. She remembered the way his chest rumbled when  he was kissing her, as if he was purring.

"Shit!" she said as her eyes widened as the pieces fell into place.

Fred looked at her puzzled. "You have need for the cleansing room? I can  ask a guard to escort you if you have a need," his left head said,  looking at her in concern.

Riley looked down with dazed eyes at Fred. "Can they-Can they change into cats?" she asked in a hushed whisper.

Fred looked at her before turning one head to look at the three warriors  working steadily. "Of course not," he said, not understanding Riley's  sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness for that," Riley murmured before Fred finished his sentence.

"The shock collars prevent them from shifting. But if the collars were  to be removed they could," he finished with a twist of envy coloring his  voice.

Riley's sigh of relief turned to a gasp of horror. I am stuck in a freaking science fiction-shifter-romance novel nightmare!



Vox frowned as his mate moved her plate of food away from his and went  to sit down between Bob and Fred. For the past couple of days, she had  done everything she could to avoid him. She spent most of her time  dancing around the huge Gelatian or keeping the small Tiliqua between  her and him. Hell, she had even used Tor and Lodar as shields but only  when the other two couldn't get away from her. Both of his men had  noticed how skittish she had been around them after the first day in the  mine. It had grown worse after they had finished their first work  shift. They had been escorted to the eating room shortly after their  shift ended. The skittish distance had turned into a frigid ice block by  the time they were done.

On the third day Vox discovered he, Lodar, and Tor were not the only  Sarafin warriors held prisoner. His best friend and cousin Titus, a  member of the lead council who had disappeared over a month before, was  among the prisoners, as well as his younger brother, Banu. There was  also one Curizan warrior and one Valdier warrior Vox recognized. Both of  them had been working undercover to bring down Raffvin and Ben'qumain's  rebellion. Titus explained he had found some damning evidence of his  own against several of those inside the Sarafin palace who were working  with Raffvin. They were the ones behind his and his brother's kidnapping  and subsequent imprisonment.

"Who are they?" Vox growled out in a low voice.

"Two are females who share your bed," Titus said quietly. "Eldora and  Pursia. They were relating information to Bragnar, a male who works in  the kitchens."

Vox turned to look at Riley when she sniffed loudly. He frowned when she  gave him a deadly stare before turning to look the other way and  focusing on what Bob and Fred were saying. He had reached to touch her  hand, but she jerked it away from him before he could even get close to  it.

"Who is the female?" Titus asked curiously, watching their interaction  with interest. "She is much more pleasing to the eye than the one who  selected me," he said with a dismissive nod toward the slender purple  figure sitting on his other side.

"She is my mate," Vox said, perplexed at his mate's sudden quiet behavior.

"As in she chose you or as in you chose her?" Titus asked. "Because if I  had to guess, she doesn't look any happier with you than mine is with  me."

"Both," Vox said grumpily. "She chose the five of us, but I knew the moment I heard her voice she was my mate."

"What species is she? I don't think I have ever seen one like her  before," Titus said, picking at the items on his plate in disgust.

"I don't know," Vox admitted reluctantly. "I forgot to ask her. We need  to get off this asteroid as soon as possible," he said changing the  subject. "I have a Valdier royal to kill."

"You and me both," Titus said, throwing down the few pieces of his food  that were left. "Supply ships arrive every seven days. One came today,"  Titus murmured quickly before standing up as an Antrox guard came over  to order him and his mate back to their quarters.

Vox nodded before turning his attention to the other warriors sitting  across from them. They each nodded in return before rising as a guard  called out to them to stand. He returned their nod. They would be off  this rock in seven days if he had his way-which he always did when he  put his mind to it. His eyes turned to the stiff, defiant figure of his  mate sitting next to him.

Yes, he thought with a small smile at the frozen face of his mate. I always get my way when I want something.



Now, he wondered how he was going to be able to fulfill his promise.  Over the past six days, all five of them plus Titus, his brother, and  the other two warriors had zero luck in getting their hands on any type  of tool that would work to remove the collars around their neck.  Something was telling him that they didn't have much time left either.  He paced the room. They would be escorted to their evening meal soon.  Tomorrow another supply ship would arrive, and Vox's gut was telling him  it would be their only chance of escape. He growled out in frustration  as he paced back and forth in the narrow room.

"Those damn insects are organized, suspicious bastards," Tor said with a  sigh. "They make sure there are no tools available that might work on  removing these damn collars," he added with a wince as he received  another small shock when he ran his fingers around the edge of it.

"I've got burn marks almost all the way around my neck from the damn thing," Lodar complained, touching his tender throat.

"Do you need some medicine for it?" Riley asked from where she was  laying on the bed, reading on her iPad. "I've got all kinds of stuff."