Valiant(4)

“What’s he doing now?” Ted sounded panicked again.

“Don’t ask,” Tiger ground out. “Valiant, come on, man. What are you doing? You know better if you’re thinking what I suspect you are. She’s a little human thing and you don’t want to attempt this.”

Valiant blinked. “She’s in heat.”

“Oh fucking hell,” Tiger cursed.

Valiant growled.

“Son of a bitch!” Tiger cursed louder. “Ted, I told you to make sure none of your women were ovulating. We went over this, damn it. No wonder he’s acting crazy.”

“How was I supposed to know?” Ted sputtered. “Do you know how many sexual harassment lawsuits I could be hit with if I asked women who worked for me if it’s a certain time of the month? Come on. And how in the hell would anyone know anyway, Tiger? How?”

Tiger cursed again. “We’d know, Ted. I told you we can smell them half a mile away and I told you some of our men would react badly to it. I’m upwind from her but he’s not. If he says she’s ovulating—and trust me, she is—it’s a problem. No wonder he’s acting this way.” The man paused. “Who was on duty when they let her in?”

“Smiley.” A male voice spoke softly. “He’s primate and his sense of smell isn’t as keen. He obviously missed her scent.”

“What does it mean if she is ovulating? Is that why he wants to kill her?” It was the woman speaking. “Is it like a shark going nuts if they smell blood?”

Tiger was silent for a few long seconds. “She’s not bleeding. As a woman you should know the difference between menstruation and ovulation. She’s ovulating. He doesn’t want to kill her. He wants to breed with her.”

“Thank God.” The woman actually laughed. “I thought he would turn her into a chew toy and tear her to pieces.”

“Marcy!” Ted yelled. “How can you laugh about this? It’s not funny. We’re all relieved he isn’t planning on killing her but did you hear what Tiger implied? We have to get her out of there.”

“Is she married?” Tiger asked.

“No.” Ted hesitated. “Now wait a minute. Don’t look relieved as if something is going to happen between them. Get her out of there.”

Tammy stared at the New Specie’s profile. He didn’t want to end her life. He wanted to breed with her. She was still in shock. She let her gaze take in the huge man-beast from head to knee and shivered. She’d been horrible with math in high school but she knew enough to do the mathematics of this one.

The guy seemed to be nearly two of her in sheer size and there was no way a physical relationship would be possible between them. And besides that— What in the hell am I thinking? She wanted to scream for help again but nothing came out of her mouth. I’m screwed! NO! Don’t say that. Find a new saying. I’m in deep shit. Yeah. That’s better. Don’t even think anything about screwed or screwing, considering.

“I can’t,” Tiger explained. “He’ll protect her if one of us tries to get close to them. Think of a really mean animal protecting his favorite toy. Well, that’s about what we have here.”

Tiger remained silent for a full minute. No one spoke. He finally must have decided on a new approach when he began to speak again.

“Valiant? I can find someone willing to take her place. You have to let her go. She’s not Species, she’s human, and you’d break her. Look how little she is. She’s puny, a real runt of a female, and you know you don’t want her. I realize she smells pretty good to you and hell, I noticed right off the bat that she’s attractive, but again, she’s human. We had some sodas together a few weeks back and discussed how frail they are. We don’t do them, remember? Just back away from her and I’ll call our females. One of them would be more than happy to come out here to take her place if you’re in the mood to get frisky. Sound good, man? Work with me here.”

“Mine,” Valiant growled.

“Fuck.” Tiger groaned. “Where is that tranquilizer gun? We’re going to need it fast.”

“I’m coming, Tammy,” Ted shouted.

“Don’t,” Tiger yelled. “He’ll tear you apart.”

“Well, do something,” Ted demanded. “I won’t stand here just watching her be raped by that…that…person.”

Valiant turned his head. His face was a foot from Tammy’s. She stared into his eyes. At close range they were amazingly beautiful. She saw swirls of color inside them that resembled spun, melted gold. His eyelashes were very thick, reddish orange, and long. On his hands and knees, he stood face level with Tammy, kneeling on the grass. His mouth was closed, his sharp teeth hidden, as he inhaled again. A soft sound came from his throat, a deep purr. He blinked at her while inching closer.