“Hello,” she called out.
They didn’t jump or seem surprised when they turned their heads to gaze up at her. She let that sink in. Did they already know where I was? She decided they probably had. One of them, the redhead, nodded at her.
“We’ll get to you after we dispose of the dead bodies. Your kills?” He jerked his head toward the two men who lay far below her. “Two of them, right? I smell two different scents.”
Shocked, Trisha just gaped at him. There was no way they could have seen the two dead bodies from where they stood. They would have had to walk around a few more trees and a huge boulder. She finally nodded.
The black-haired Species pushed his hair away from his face as he peered up at Trisha. “Where is Slade? We caught his scent but it’s faded as though he’s been gone for hours. Why did he leave you, Dr. Norbit?”
“He said there were too many of them.” She paused. “He wanted to cut down their numbers. He seemed certain if he started hunting them that some of them would get spooked enough to leave but he should have been back by now. He said if I fired the guns he’d hear and come running.”
The redhead nodded. “That is a good plan. It accounts for why we found two empty camps with the scent of blood but no men.”
Two camps? She wondered if they’d found the one where she’d been held or the one Slade had attacked the night before. She didn’t really want to know. She just worried about Slade. He’s promised to come if she needed help and he had to have heard the gunshots but he hadn’t arrived yet. Two of his men had to rescue her instead. Is he hurt? Dead? Maybe he is still on his way.
“Is there any way you can tell if Slade is close?” Trisha silently hoped they could.
The redhead lifted his head and sniffed. He shook his head. “I don’t scent him and if he comes, it’s from afar. We will get you down from there when we are done. Sit and stay put. You’re safe now, Dr. Norbit. Our people will send a helicopter here to fly you to safety and we will find Slade if he does not return within a reasonable time. We have teams spread out for miles searching for you both. I would track his scent but I’d rather wait until you are secured on the helicopter. You were our primary concern since Slade can take care of himself.”
Trisha was speechless over being told she was the New Species’ primary concern. She worked for them, sure, but Slade was one of their own. She was glad the man below her had so much confidence in Slade’s ability to take care of himself though. He must be really good at survival. Slade had told her that he’d trained with most of these men and they had to know him really well.
The black-haired Species leaned down and pulled something from his bottom pocket. Their pants seemed to have a lot of them. Trisha crouched down but watched what he did. It looked as though he had some kind of bulky cell phone he spoke into. She saw his lips move but didn’t hear his words. She quickly realized he spoke into a satellite phone. She’d seen a few of them a time or two. He hung up and replaced the phone into his lower pocket.
Trisha moved back away from the edge, not wanting to watch them remove the bodies from below. She wondered what they would do with them but didn’t ask. She sat on the sleeping bag and hugged her arms to wait.
“Where are you, Slade?”
The silence squeezed at her heart at not knowing if he was okay or if he’d never come back to her. They had some things to discuss if both of them came out of this alive. Did what had happened between them mean anything or was it just one of those trauma-induced moments?She uttered a curse word. What if he had only slept with her and treated her the way he had because of the situation they were in? She pushed those thoughts away. It was too painful.
* * * * *
Slade sniffed the air, could scent his own kind, and pure rage gripped him. They’d prevent him from killing all the humans who meant to do harm. The distant sounds of gunfire had come from Trisha’s direction. His heart raced as he jumped over a fallen log, used it to kick off, and leaped over a small ravine. He landed hard, crouched, and then rose up.
“Easy,” a male called out. “Stop running.”
Slade snarled, his head jerked up, and he spotted a familiar face from his perch on a tree limb twenty feet in the air. “She’s in danger.”
“No, she’s not. Smiley and Flame have her. They spotted her perch and are intercepting the males in her vicinity. She’s well taken care of.” The guy jumped, landed on a pile of dead leaves, and straightened. “You can’t be seen by humans right now.”
“I must go to her, Ascension.”
“She’s safe. We have her, my friend.” The other male’s gaze swept down Slade’s body before he met his eyes. “You’re soaked in blood and gore. You’ll terrify her if she sees you this way. It’s a pretty horrific sight even for me. How many did you kill?”
“Many.” Slade’s body began to relax. Trisha would be safe if Flame and Smiley were near. Both males were very good. “She’s safe? You’re sure?”“You found her a secure location. No human is going to reach her before our males do. She is safe. Calm. May I approach? You’re injured and feral at the moment. You have that caged look we know so well.”
Slade crouched, breathed heavily, and tried to catch his breath. “I won’t attack.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I wasn’t sure how far you’d gone or if you’d lost it.” Ascension stepped closer, slowly, and crouched in front of him until only feet separated them.
“I’m fine.” Slade stared into the other man’s eyes.
“Good. We knew you’d survive but weren’t sure of your state of mind if you had to kill. We found some of the kill zones. Why didn’t you just stay with the doctor?”
“They were closing in on us, there were too many, and one group of them found her the first time I left her alone. She has no survival skills and allowed them to walk right upon her. I had to turn the tables to make sure no more could harm her.”
Ascension watched him silently, frowning. “I smell her on you. It’s hard to pick up over the stench of blood and death but it’s there.”
A soft growl rumbled from Slade. “And?”
Ascension reached over and clasped his shoulder. “She’s human, soft, and a doctor. They take oaths to save lives. I don’t want to see you harmed.”
“I need to go to her.” Slade tried to straighten but the other male’s firm grasp on him only tightened.
“Listen to me.”
“What?”
“You’re feral right now. Your mind is calmer than we feared but you’re walking death. You don’t have a mirror. Your features and eyes have the wild look we tend to get when it happens. She can’t see you this way. You’d only terrify her. I’m under orders to find you and bring you back to Homeland. Allow me to take you there.”
Slade growled. “No. I’m not done here. There are more of them.”
“Orders are—”
“They attacked her, one of them beat her and tried to rape her. She could have died when they forced the SUV off the road. They declared war on us and I want it finished. Any that get away could attack again at a later date.”
The hand eased and released. “I can’t bring you in if I haven’t found you. I understand but you must stay away from her until you regain your ability to suppress your rage. At least wash before you rejoin us. There’s a stream to the east. I can smell her on you and they will too. They may fear you forced her into sexual submission in your current condition. I don’t believe that. I know you too well and I’ve seen you watching her while we’re on duty. You must have purposely rubbed her scent on you to keep it.”
Slade remembered biting Trisha and wiping her blood behind his neck. He hadn’t meant to do it at the time but he acknowledged that he hadn’t rectified it either. Having her scent had kept him sane when he’d killed to protect her.
“Finish what you started if you believe they will be a continued threat to your female. I never saw you and this conversation never took place. Just swear you’ll wait twenty-four hours before you approach her after you’re ready to be found. There are three dozen of us inside the woods. We’re doing a grid search for the humans. We brought along five primates so watch the trees. I knew you wouldn’t expect it and I waited from above to find you.”
“Smart.”
Ascension grinned. “I know you, my friend. We’ve been together too long since we were freed.” All emotion wiped from his features. “And don’t forget to find that stream. I’d do it now and then continue your hunt. Just wash after you find them so you aren’t covered in their blood when you come in.”
“I won’t forget. You swear she’s safe?”
“My word.”
It was good enough for Slade. “I want to kill them all for risking her life.”
“That causes me to feel fear. Find the humanity inside you. I’ll say I searched this area without result.” He stood. “Go, and watch the trees from now on. I’m not the only one who will think to hide there to seek you out.”
Slade rose and took off into the thicker forest, keeping his attention up as well as on his surroundings. Primates kept to the treetops when possible, their scents harder to catch, and he didn’t want to be found until he cut down some of the numbers of the humans who had tried to harm his Trisha.